Part Five - The glory of a sunrise

A couple of weeks after returning to the home port, I was both surprised and a little disappointed that everything slipped back into a routine on the base. Glorious had gotten herself hurt, again, charging into a destroyer torpedo wall, while trying to use her nonexistent BL fifteens, however with everything going back to normal means that there is some distance between me and Glorious again.

Still, for now, I'm standing in the supply station, a checklist in my hand and several manjuu checking containers where the one with the officer's cap translated my orders for them. I'm honestly not sure which I find more disturbing, the genetic engineering that went into the manjuu or the meowfficers, I mean with the manjuu I've got chickens that can actually do work. With the meowfficers however, I've got ones that look like cats that wear some clothes and others that look like little humans… thankfully I don't have to look at Lime or Pound right now. Still, these were really the least of my worries right now as I ask with an exasperated tone, "What are we going to do with forty skids of rubber ducks? I had requested four test tubes!"

The manjuu with the cap shrugged at me, I honestly don't know how it managed it, but it did. Running a hand down my face I sigh before snapping my fingers on my right hand then extend my right index finger and start to slowly rock my hand back and forth as I say, "I think I've got an idea. But I'm going to need help."

The manjuu tilts its head at me and I say, "Don't judge me, just unpack them and set them aside."

It nods at me and starts to chirp at the other manjuu and they seem to collect up pry bars, hammers, and is that a blowtorch?

Hurrying over, I take away the blowtorch and scold it, "No fire, rubber melts."

It seems to sulk for a moment then slowly waddles off to get a hammer and drag it behind it. Shaking my head slowly I leave the supply station and take out my phone, to call my office. When I hear the Scottish accent on the other end I speak before she can even finish answering the phone, "Javelin, I need you to find Abercrombie and have her meet me in the supply section ASAP."

"Commander?" Javelin asks with a puzzled tone.

"The less you know, the better, just send our resident troublemaker." I say to her.

"Aye, Commander, I'll track her down." Javelin responded while still sounding a little puzzled.

"Thank you, Javelin." I say before hanging up and rubbing my hands together as I say, "This should be amusing."

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"You're serious?" A little blond girl asked me with her northern English accent.

"I am, find a use for them and I don't care nor do I want to know how." I say as she runs over and dives into the pile of little yellow rubber ducks. When she popped back out, the grin on her face was massive, until I held up one finger and said, "With the exception, I will not be your target."

"Done!" she said and started to bounce a duck in her hand. As I started to walk away, she asked, "Commander Wilks, can I ask you something?"

Stopping in my tracks I look over my shoulder with a raised eyebrow and say, "Depending on the question, but go ahead."

Her brow knit together and she looked down as she asked me, "Can you check on Glorious? She was making strange noises this morning and it sounded like she was calling for you."

My head tilted to the side and I asked, slowly, "What kind of noises?"

The sound she made, had the color in my face drain away and my stomach twisted as this girl that looked to be a pre-teen started to make the lewdest noise I had heard, in a long time, after that moan she said, "She sounded like that."

I clear my throat and avoid eye contact with her as I say, "Abercrombie, please, never make that noise again. But I'm sure she's okay, and I'll still check on her."

The little monitor smiled at me and dove back into the pile of ducks as I left the storage facility and started to wonder how to bring up the fact that the walls may not be as thick as Glorious thought.

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It didn't take me long to get to the dorms and up to Glorious' room, closing my eyes I knocked on the door and waited. After a few moments I knocked again, this time however I heard that sweet Irish voice call out, "I'm coming, I'm coming."

I bit my lower lips to stop myself from making a joke through the door right now. When the door opened I saw Glorious standing there with a bandage on her cheek and an icepack on her head. She smiled when she noticed it was me and I asked, "May I come in?"

She stepped back from the door as she said, "Of course, Commander, but pardon the mess."

I closed the door behind me and noticed it was more or less the same as it was last time, food containers, piled pictures, and magazines. Glorious moved about the room and started to clean things up, when she was bending at her hips facing away from me I asked, "How are you doing Glorious?"

"I'll be right as rain in a couple of days, no need to worry," she paused, I guess trying to figure out how to respond before she added, "Anthony."

I'll admit it, I was looking at her stern, wondering if that dress of hers would ride up enough for me to see her stern or not and I said to her, "I'm glad to hear it, but Abercrombie was worried about you and asked me to look in on you."

"That's sweet of her, but I'm fine, just a little bump." Glorious says as she moves one pile to another pile.

I look off to the side and rub the back of my head before I smirk and say to her, "That's not why she asked me to look in on you."

"Why did she then?" Glorious asked, still shuffling things around.

I clear my throat as I say, "She overheard you this morning, and she said you were making strange noises and that you were calling for me."

That did it.

Glorious fell forward, going over the pile of magazines. Crossing the floor and looking over the side I see her on her back looking up at me, her blue eyes wide face bright red. The poor girl looked so embarrassed, that she hid her face behind her hands and groaned out, "She heard me?"

"You do know that the dorms were built by the lowest bidder, right?" I ask with a smirk on my lips.

She closes her blue eyes and mutters, "This is so embarrassing for me, the glory of the Royal Navy."

Taking a seat in a free chair I still have a smirk on my lips as I tease her, "Not for me, I get to know I'm in your rather racy dreams."

After a moment she asked me, "Anthony, would you mind leaving me be for now? I'd just kind of like to hide in a hole for a little while."

Sighing to myself I got out of the chair and went to the door, putting my hand on the handle I say over my shoulder, "I've missed cuddling with you at night, by the way, but I'll leave you be for now."

I didn't get an answer or even acknowledgment that I had been heard but considering she's already said she was embarrassed, I figured letting it go for now would be best.

Walking down the hall from Glorious' room I ran a free hand down my face, then I saw Rodney coming down the hall, when her eyes landed on me a smile crept onto her face and she came to a stop. Tilting my head to the side as she leaned forward a little, her hands going behind her back she teased out, "You know, Commander, there is a reason why we go to the north beach of 'alone time', the walls in here are rather thin."

I blink a couple of times and ask, rather dumbly, "Then how do you know not to go up to that beach?"

"You sign out the dolphin floaty." She says in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How?" I ask in a shocked tone.

"Well, you sit on it and start to rub against it, it works pretty well." She says standing upright and folding her arms under her bust.

"So, you meant to tell me?" I'm still having trouble processing this.

"Yeah, all of the bigger girls have needs, Commander, we just know to go to the north beach to scratch that itch." She says, pausing to smirk as she leans in to whisper, "Though I think it might be more fun to go with you."

I step back and put up my hands while I shake my head and say to her with my cheeks burning hot, "Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass."

Rodney smiles at me as she purrs out, "Offer stands, Commander."

Closing my eyes and rolling my head to the left I sigh and step around Rodney to leave the dorm. Just as I get outside, I hear Abercrombie's voice call out, "Fire!"

The next thing I know, I feel the impact of several objects. Pinching the bridge of my nose I look down at my feet, just as a yellow rubber duck rolls over. Turning around to look at the dorms I see that blond bob of Abercrombie, leaning out the window, above her head a rather large bra was strapped across the window, and I ask, "Really? I said I couldn't be a target!"

"Sorry! I was testing the range!" she called back.

"That's mine!" called out an Irish voice behind me.

Turning around slowly I saw Formidable standing there, pointing up at the window, her face bright red, but most alarming to me was, I saw that damn dolphin floaty under her right arm. I clear my throat and look off to the side and ask, "Going to or returning from the north beach?"

"What?" Formidable all but shrieked, her red eyes going wide, after a second she went a brighter shade of red and added, "None of your business! And don't look up at the dorm!"

I put up my hands and look down at my feet as I do my best to just get out of this situation and say, "Understood." Besides I needed to get back to the office anyway.

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Closing the office door behind me, I go over to my couch and flop down on it as I say, "I really didn't need to find out what that floaty means."

"What floaty?" asked Javelin with her Scottish accent as she opened my door and walked in backward with a cup of coffee.

"The dolphin." I say in a dry tone of voice.

"Yeah? What does it mean?" she asks, her eyes sparkling at the thought of finding out that knowledge.

I felt my cheeks get hot and I looked off to the side before coughing and saying, "Javelin, there are some things in this world, that I really, really don't want to talk to you about. And this one is one of those things. If you really want to know, then I suggest going and talking with Rodney or some of the bigger girls."

Javelin shrugs and hands me the mug before telling me, "By the way, Commander Wilks, Captain Chapman wanted me to let you know that Vanguard is heading out for sea trials, but she wants to stop by our port to meet with the kansen that donated her guns to her."

I blink a couple of times as I ask, "Vanguard is coming online already?"

"From my understanding, the guns were the last thing she needed." Javelin says as she goes to the door.

I sip the coffee, close my eyes and say, "Thanks Javelin."

When she leaves my office, I put the mug down on the coffee table and lean back down on the couch, crossing my ankles and putting my hands behind my head, and closing my eyes for a short bit, today has been a lot.

I'm startled away as I feel a weight on top of me and the tickle of air moving past my neck. Blinking my eyes open I see blond hair and two blue and white accessories that look like boat hulls on the back of the head. I felt myself smile at the familiar-looking head and moved my arms around the waist of the woman that was lying on me, just as I did so, she whispered to me with her Irish accent, "I've missed this too."

I watch as she sits up, straddling my hips, my hands falling to her thighs while her hands run down my chest and I ask, "What do we do," I didn't finish that thought as Glorious leaned in and kissed me.

It was a good kiss, tender, yet forceful, enough so that I gripped her thighs while the kiss deepened. I didn't want it to end, even when my lungs started to protest the need for air, no it came to an end when my office door flung open and I heard Javelin call out, "Sorry Comman…"

Turning my head away from the kiss, going cheek to cheek with Glorious, I saw the stunned looking destroyer standing there, her mouth agape, right index finger pointing at the two of us. Somehow, I knew my life just got a lot more complicated.

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A/N: I know a short one, but this one feels like a natural end point for this chapter. Still some forward movement for Glorious!