I apologize for this chapter taking so long. Expect chapters to be more along the lines of one every two to three weeks from this point onward. Amazing new cover art commissioned by Hilent.

The morning light seeped through the crack between the curtains and poured over her. She swept her right arm over her face and groaned. It was far too early. Even the sun was still groggy and only gave a token amount of light, just enough to tell it was dawn. Hood mumbled incoherently to herself as she rolled onto her side and threw her pillow over her head.

Sweet darkness, my old friend.

…

I need to get up.

…

But I have nothing to do today.

After several minutes of foggy thoughts and sluggish movement she rolled onto her back. She blearily opened her eye and stared at the ceiling of her room.

The ceiling is an odd shade of eggshell at this hour, she decided.

She tried to blink the sleep away, but without any duties to attend to or the ability to exercise, the past few months had done work on her sleep cycle. Her time as a morning person was long past.

A light, rhythmic knocking forced her hand.

"I will be there in a moment."

Her bed was still warm and inviting, but it would go against her carefully crafted image as a proper lady to keep an unexpected guest waiting. Sliding the soft sheets off of her bare legs, she swung them down the side of the bed and yawned. Raising her arm above her head, her yawn transitioned into a soft grunt as she stretched her remaining arm out. Making sure to place most of her weight on her right leg, she wobbled slightly as she stood without her cane. Admittedly, the cane was not as useful as it would normally be‒ since it was both of her left limbs that were injured in the explosion‒, resulting in still somewhat of a hobble, but it was far better than the alternative. She refused to be confined to a wheelchair.

Hop-walking to the door, she steadied herself and straightened her nightgown in a hasty attempt to be presentable. Satisfied with her appearance, she gently swung the door open.

"Oh," Hood smiled, "hello, Electra. To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you this early?"

"Good morning to you as well, miss Hood," she said. "I'm afraid I'm not here for breakfast and tea. The First Sea Lord has requested your presence in his office in three quarters of an hour. I expect you do not require my assistance this morning?"

Hood shook her head. "No, thank you. Three quarters of an hour is more than enough time for me to wash up and dress myself. Tell Sir Pound that I will be there post-haste."

Electra lowered her head in a bow. "I will notify him immediately. Good luck at your meeting, Miss Hood."

"I'll certainly try my best, Electra." Hood smiled as she gently eased the door closed.

With the door now between her and Electra, she frowned.

"Forty-five minutes to shower, dress, and hobble my way to sir Pound's office on the third floor of the War Office building?" Hood rubbed her one good eye and sighed. "I wish I just swallowed my pride and allowed Electra to help."

It wasn't like there was much pride left when it came to Electra in the first place. Especially when she needed assistance bathing and dressing herself for the first two weeks. Electra had been accommodating and patient with Captain Buss' orders to help rehabilitate her, but the experience was mortifying to say the least.

Shaking her head and lightly hitting her cheek, Hood slowly worked her way to her bathroom and turned the shower as hot as it could go. Anything less was unacceptable, and the one time that Electra had suggested a cold bath for physical therapy had Electra just about beaten off with her hat.

Hood stuck her hand under the stream until she felt it was sufficiently scalding. Once she was content with the temperature she struggled with her nightgown. Despite the frustrating fabric being loose and made of silk, it refused to slide off smoothly. Only after several moments of grasping was she able to slide the loose garment off her shoulder and onto the tiled floor. With her clothing removed, Hood took a moment to appraise herself in the slowly fogging mirror. Her left eye was gone. Her left arm was nothing more than a stub above where her elbow used to be. She ran her fingers over the pale white scars that scrawled and scythed over her left side. Most were narrow and clean. Some were wide, pronounced, and jagged. Soon, the mirror fogged up enough to where she could no longer see herself and she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and let the humid air fill her. When she was confident that she wouldn't fall over, she gripped the shower's handrail and pulled herself over the lip of the tub.

She clenched her teeth as the water burned her skin raw, but anything was better than the icy water of the Atlantic.

Hood adjusted her ruffled scarf for the umpteenth time as she stood outside the office of the First Sea Lord hoping that it would open on its own or that some admiral or another would whisk her away from whatever Sir Pound had summoned her for. Their work relationship was… less than stellar. Sir Pound did not appreciate any of the girls that had been the result of the defunct Azure Project, but he seemed to have a special loathing in his heart for Hood.

To be entirely honest with herself, Hood struggled to remember a single time that Sir Pound had so much as complimented her hat. Sighing heavily, she pulled out her pocket watch and glanced at the time.

5:53. Right. Still broken.

Sliding the damaged heirloom back into the pocket of her blouse, Hood shifted her weight from foot to cane, cane to foot.

Foot to cane.

Cane to foot.

Foot to cane.

"Do you need help, dear?"

She shook her head and turned to the woman behind a nearby desk. "Oh, no, I'm simply waiting on my meeting with Sir Pound."

"Ah, you must be Hood, then, correct? The First Sea Lord is expecting you. You can walk in."

Hood forced a tight smile. "Is that so? I suppose I shouldn't keep him waiting, then."

She did a once-over of her dress, straightening it out, fluffing up her ruffled scarf, and readjusting her Union Jack capelet.

Hood shook her head. You're stalling, darling. Just open the damn door.

Grimacing, she opened the door as quietly as she could, but the hinges still creaked incredibly loudly in her ears. First Sea Lord Sir Pound looked up from his paper and glanced at her through the glasses hanging low on his nose. A bushy eyebrow arched up as Hood stopped in the middle of the doorway.

"Are you going to enter or do you need an invitation, Miss Dracula?"

"Ah, terribly sorry, sir."

She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. The hinges still creaked irritably in her ears as it clicked shut. Maybe she was just irritated in general. Basking in the presence of the First Sea Lord tended to do that to anyone. She moved to take the chair before his desk, but he raised a hand to stop her.

"Stand."

Hood paused for a moment but took it in stride. She took her hand off of the chair and pressed down her dress lightly. "Of course, sir. May I ask as to the reason for such an impromptu meeting?"

Sir Pound placed the paper that he had been reading until now atop a large stack of papers that were sitting in a bin. It had one of those tapped-on 'incoming' labels posted to the front. Opening a small drawer behind the desk, he pulled out a single, crisp white sheet of paper.

"I called you to my office so that we might discuss your new terms of future employment. As far as the Royal Navy is concerned, you are a piece of equipment, not personnel. As such, you are capital. Capital that the Royal Navy has precious little of in this new war with the Iron Blood. We're already promising the Eagle Union the moon with the small arms and equipment we are buying off of them on credit."

Seeing a brief pause in his speech, Hood took the chance to speak up. "Excuse me if I sound too presumptuous, but what does that have to do with me, sir?"

Sir Pound let out a snort. "It has everything to do with you, you little trollop. The Eagle Union was just attacked by the Sakura Empire. Their dockyard in Hawaii is in ruins and the Union pacific fleet is scrambling to react. This piece of paper, " he shook it for emphasis, "is a telegram that was received an hour ago from the Eagle Union Admiralty. With the Union now at war, the Royal Navy needs to be more… up front with their payments. Now that the Union requires arms as well. I can't imagine how they'll recover from what happened at Pearl this morning, but that is where you come in."

"Would it be safe to assume that I will be accompanying a task force to the Eagle Union as a show of solidarity?"

"Never assume, Pennant fifty-one. It will make an ass of you and me, and I refuse to be made an ass of by something built to serve the Royal Navy. Now, since you evidently cannot grasp what it is I have been informing you of, I will be blunt."

Sir Pound set the piece of paper onto the desk. Despite being a single sheet of paper, it seemed to Hood to make a heavy sound as it landed, similar to a judge's gavel as they issued capital punishment.

Though, it may just be her heart pounding in her ears on that one.

"As a show of good faith and solidarity with our staunch allies across the pond, you're being gifted to the Eagle Union. Permanently. The admiralty believes that your experience and image as the flagship of the Royal Navy will raise the morale and training of the fighting men of America."

He scowled. "To top it off, with their fleet in such disarray and reports of the Sakura Empire using human ships in the attack at Pearl, they have seen fit to reintroduce project Azure. The dunces."

"Sir-"

"Do not interrupt me. You will be transferred to the Eagle Union on the first ship available. You will act as a secretary to the new commander of project Azure. You will behave, and you will do everything that those bloody Americans ask of you. If they say jump, you ask how high. Am I understood, Pennant fifty-one?"

"Sir, yes, First Sea Lord, sir."

"You would do well to make sure that the glorious name of the Royal Navy is not tarnished with whatever it is that you do when you are not supervised."

The insinuation was immediately understood by Hood, and she fought the urge to slap the man across his sagging cheeks as her own burned red.

How uncouth! I am a proper lady you insufferable, miserable piece of-

"I understand, sir. I will do my utmost to present an air of elegance and propriety as a missionary of the Royal Navy in the States."

The First Sea Lord looked Hood in the eyes for several moments before nodding his head and returning to his work. He took a pen from the nearby drafter and began to sign documents with her still standing at rest. Her feet were beginning to hurt despite the flats she was wearing and her palm was sore from leaning into her cane as she shifted her weight back and forth. After a few moments of watching the man read and sign documents in silence, Hood had decided that she was no longer welcomed. She turned to leave only for him to stop her.

"Did I say that you were dismissed?"

Still facing the door, Hood calmly replied. "No, sir."

"Then why are you leaving?"

"You were no longer addressing me, sir. I believed that I was dismissed."

He sighed. "This is why project Azure was such a failure. Weapons shouldn't think for themselves. Go. I do not expect to see you in this office again."

"Of course, sir. God save the king."

And may God curse the First Sea Lord.

The hinges creaked as she opened the door, and Hood found immense, petty pleasure in taking as long as she could closing the door and letting the screeching drag on in the office. She let out a shuddering sigh as soon as the door clicked shut.

"I need to sit."

"And drink some black tea?"

"And some black tea, thank you, Electra. Wait, Electra?"

The lithe woman next to her curtsied lightly. "Hello, Miss Hood. I have awaited the end of your meeting with the First Sea Lord so that I may escort you to the officer's mess."

"Definitely not because you were curious and were trying to listen in on the meeting, I presume?"

"Oh, heavens, no. That would be quite unlike me, now, would it not? I was simply waiting on my charge as instructed to me by Commodore Buss." she sniffed. "Spying is beneath a lady."

Hood looked Electra up and down. "I thought you were supposed to be a maid."

Electra blinked. "Is that how I look?"

"Oh, yes, tremendously so. You have a ruffled apron and headpiece. The whole nine yards."

"But the apron keeps dust and stains off of my dress, and Commodore Buss said he really liked the headpiece…"

"Did you really have to pair it with a black dress, though? It really doesn't help your case when some Captains do have their girls dress as maids." Hood frowned. "At least Belfast enjoys it."

"Maybe I'll get a nice red and white dress when Commodore Buss takes me on another shopping trip."

"You've gone out with Commodore Buss before? This I have to hear. Come. We can walk and talk."

"Oh, it's nothing to write home about, darling. Just when Austen has some free time he takes me out into London to walk and talk, just as we are doing now."

Hood smiled. "Ah, ah, ah, you slipped Electra. You called Commodore Buss, 'Austen.' A little more familiar than you're letting off, hm?"

"I call you, Hood, do I not?"

"You call me Miss Hood~ You called him Austen."

"There is nothing wrong with what I call Sammy."

"Ah! You call him Sammy? This just keeps getting better!"

Electra's face burned red. "I have no idea what you are talking about, mi- Hood. I address all of my dear friends with that level of familiarity, uh, Hoodie."

"Keep telling yourself that, darling; maybe you'll believe it one day."

"Hmph. So, the Eagle Union, hm?"

Hood saw Electra's attempt to change the topic. She wasn't sure when she'd see her friend again after the next few hours, so she let her have her way. This time. Instead of pointing out her tactless subject change, she sighed.

"Indeed. It appears that the admiralty sees me more fit to aid King and Country over across the pond rather than here on the homefront. As much as I hate to admit it, they may be correct. I've certainly been sitting with my one thumb up my arse doing fuck all. Maybe in the Union I'll actually get something done in this bloody war."

"Oh, do not say that, darling. You have gotten plenty done."

"Like what? Parade myself around like a Welsh whore and explode?"

"You managed to kick off the greatest manhunt in history is what you did. Without you we never would have caught the Bismarck and the Ironblood would still have their greatest capital ship roaming the Atlantic and sinking our convoys. Not to mention the boost in the morale of our sailors and the other girls. Whether you like it or not you rallied an entire nation. It even gave some of our girls some hope that maybe their next captains will treat them better than how they have it now."

"I thought they rallied behind the sinking of my hull."

Electra nodded. "Oh, they did, but drawing up a poor, injured, defenseless young woman on the propaganda posters was too good to pass up. 'Avenge her!' a few said. 'Krauts did this to her!' and 'don't let this be your daughter! Join the Royal Navy!' were my personal favorites."

Hood snorted. "Whatever gets the men of England motivated, I suppose."

Electra giggled behind her hand. "Did you just snort?"

"No, I did not. You're hearing things. Perhaps you've stood next to your cannons one too many times." Hood paused. "If I had two arms I'd be crossing them right now, just so you know."

"I have you one-upped in that regard then. Oh, the wonders I can do with two arms~"

"I'm sure Buss was very appreciative of the 'wonders' you can do with two arms, darling."

Electra stumbled. "Oh, hush, you! I am going to right smack you one of these days."

"You could make it today if you were fast enough."

Hood struck Electra's rear with her cane and quickly began hobbling away as fast as she could. Electra, with her face glowing red- from embarrassment or frustration Hood couldn't tell- charged after the crippled battlecruiser.

"Aren't you supposed to be fast? You can't even catch a cripple!"

"I am wearing four inch heels, you insufferable loaf!"

"Oh, I'm bread now? Or are you calling me fat?"

"You certainly do your best to get a rise out of me. And I am not saying you are thin."

Hood stumbled to a stop. "Are you saying I'm fat?"

"I am saying you could lose a pound or two. Also," Electra whapped Hood across her rear, "I caught you."

Hood kept opening and closing her mouth, struggling to think of a comeback. Failing, she looked away and sniffed. "At least I have two pounds to lose, unlike a certain E-class destroyer."

"Did you just call me flat?"

"I'm not sure. Did you call me fat?"

Electra pursed her lips. "Touché, Miss Hood, touché."

"I learned from the best. Now, we can continue our ribbing later. For now, let's just enjoy our breakfast."

"That is agreeable." Electra took the door and opened it for Hood. "Ladies first."

"So you admit that you're a maid?"

"Do not make me accidentally let go of this door in your face, miss Hood."

"Kidding, kidding."

Hood sat on the stone bench outside of the women's dormitory. Her suitcase beside her held all of her worldly possessions. It wasn't as if she had much, anyway. Just a few changes of clothes, a pair of short heels to change out for her flats, some makeup, and her favorite tea set. The tea set actually took up the majority of the suitcase, since she insisted it be wrapped in as many layers of cloth as possible.

The bench was cold and hard- a literal slab of granite held up by two roughly hewn stones- but she was being warmed by the slowly rising morning sun, so she didn't mind. Off to her left was the women's dormitory and training yard. The original facilities had been… lackluster was a weak, but appropriate, word, and there was apparently no money in the budget for nicer facilities.

How Belfast had convinced the Lord Admiral that there was more money, she didn't want to know.

Running laps were a few girls that Hood knew, but none of them quite personally. The only one's she could really call friends were Repulse, Renown, and maybe Prince of Wales; although Hood was still upset at her for abandoning her men, even if the situation was untenable. It was a ridiculous hang up, and Hood knew she was being immature holding a grudge for something Prince of Wales couldn't control or help, but it helped having someone to blame.

The skin around her eyepatch was itching but she refused to scratch at it. She realized long ago just how easy it was to rub the skin raw and have a generally far worse time wearing the bloody thing. Hence, she wore it as rarely as possible, and only when she needed to in the presence of others. At least Repulse had been kind enough to paint a little Union Jack on it, the sweet girl.

"Now it matches your outfit!"

Hood shook her head and busied her mind off of her scratchy skin by checking her suitcase for the umpteenth time.

Still there.

Hood may have lost an eye but she wasn't blind yet. Still, the action busied her hand and her mind and away from the fact that in a few minutes she would be shipping off with little hope of seeing Britain again.

"Is this seat taken?"

Hood started lightly but quickly rubbed her dress down and sat a little straighter. "No, it isn't, Electra. I know you like being polite and it's a wonderful virtue but you don't have to ask me. We're friends, you know."

"I am aware. I simply enjoy exercising the more simple aspects of being a lady and being courteous is, while not noted when done correctly, is always noticed when you are not."

"You're also aware that the English language has a brilliant thing called contractions, correct?"

"You are aware that using contractions is not proper for a lady, correct?"

Hood threw up her hand. "Stop making sense."

"I will, once you start seeing it."

"You really are an annoying little twat, aren't you? How does Buss put up with you? How do I?"

Electra slapped her shoulder. "Oh, hush. I am an absolute pleasure to be around."

"I'm sure Buss gets quite a bit of pleasure from you, yes."

Electra slapped her harder. "Stop it!"

"Hahah, I'm sorry, it's just so easy to poke fun at you. You really do leave yourself open."

"I do no such thing. It is you who just has a perverse mind and twists everything I say."

Hood smiled lightly behind her gloved hand, turning her head away from Electra and back towards the training yard. Once upon a time, she would have been with those girls doing their morning exercises and working up a sweat.

"... miss this?"

Hood shook her head. "Terribly sorry, I spaced out for a moment. Could you repeat that?"

"Do you feel like you are going to miss this?"

She frowned.

Push come to shove, would I miss this place? Would I miss my room and training with the other girls? It's not as if I have many friends. Not many people felt like they could talk to the Mighty Hood, no matter how often I tried to be friendly with everyone. After the Denmark Strait, everyone felt too awkward to talk to me, too.

No one wanted to deal with the reality that she represented, after all.

"I'm… not sure. I feel as if that should be an answer on its own. I'm not sure whether I will be, and that's a bad thing, right? As it is, I don't stand to lose much. Most of what I had I've already lost. If I'm being entirely honest I only really have you to lose, and you can always visit me in the Eagle Union when you have holiday."

"I actually have some news on that front. I spoke with Sammy– not a word– after breakfast when I left you to pack and I received new marching orders. I am to ship off soon to the Dutch East Indies to aid the Union against the Sakura Empire's expansion in the area. Maybe we will be able to see each other again after that if we are both dealing with enemies in the Pacific."

"I'd like that. I'd really like that. I know I haven't said it enough, but thank you, Electra. For everything."

"It is no problem. That is what friends are for. Besides, you can pay me back by treating me to tea and whatever it is those Americans pass off as food over there when I visit."

Hood leaned in and wrapped her one good arm around her friend.

"It's a deal."