[A/N]: I'm obviously not going to make y'all wait very long for the next chapter. That's the entire point of this story remodel!
Having said that, just a friendly reminder that this is a cooperative project with Touhoufanatic. His fic 'Daemons Of the Fog' parallels this one for the most part. Some scenes will be almost the same, while others will give you better insight on the characters if you read both perspectives of them.
Having gotten that out of the way, I hope you enjoy!
Several months after that first engagement as a fleet Tirpitz decides to break up the fleet, sending a small, fast fleet to the West coast while they continue to kick the dead horse that is the East coast human navy.
It's still an impressive fleet though. Overall we have one carrier, two battlecruisers, four heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, and six destroyers, plus auxiliaries and the dozen or so PT boats. Enterprise acts as the flagship, with myself and Guam being her second and third in command respectively.
We're heading up by Vancouver Island for some R&R when Enterprise receives a new order straight from the Admiralty, and more specifically, the Fog battleship Montana.
"Alright people, here's the deal. We're changing plans." She explains, standing up front of the Concept Communications briefing room.
"Again?!" "Aw come on!" "Where are we hitting this time?!"
Enterprise puts her hands out to quiet us, and once everyone quiets down she gets to explaining.
"We've received orders to head north past Vancouver Island and rendezvous with the Fog cruiser Portland and a couple of hybrids under her command. They will be joining us for the immediate future."
An eerie silence descends on the room, and everyone looks at each other nervously.
Finally after a few seconds Enterprise clears up what everyone's thinking. "I know our last Fog liaison wasn't the best at not treating us like shit, but I've been assured that Portland is different. I'll be contacting her and the hybrids under her command as soon as we're done here. Any questions?"
"When are we gonna get to relax?" One of the PT boat hybrids asks from the back of the room.
Enterprise sighs. "I don't know. Maybe a couple more weeks."
"God damn it." "I'm gettin' tired of this shit." "We need a break!"
"Hey! Trust me, I know. We all want some downtime, myself included. It all depends on what Portland wants us to do. I'll ask her, and if she says it's okay then we'll take a break. Are there any other questions?"
This time everyone stays quiet, and Enterprise nods in satisfaction. "Good. Dismissed!"
Without any further warning I'm back inside my wheelhouse, seated in a chair by the front windows.
Making sure to keep my relative position in comparison to Enterprise and Oakland I get comfortable, reclining the chair before closing my tired eyes and falling asleep.
Several hours later I wake up to three cruisers on the horizon to the north, with Vancouver Island visible to the east, though only by the lights of various fishing settlements at the water's edge.
{Alaska, you up?} Enterprise asks via an audio call.
"Yeah I'm up. That them to the north?"
{Yep. We're gonna head a little further north, and then we'll have some R&R. I want you and Guam ready to intercept any possible ships coming our way after the rest of us anchor.}
"Got it. Any chance I could head to the nearest settlement and get some refreshments?"
{Make it quick, don't get caught.}
"Yes ma'am."
I swivel my still-reclined chair off to the side and prepare my floatplane while leaving the wheelhouse. For my stealthy plan to work I make myself a parachute and put it on while also using some nanomaterials to change my clothes to something more suited for the climate.
The plan is simple really. I'll fly above the town, bail out into the woods, and mix into the population. I'll buy the refreshments, then disappear as quickly as I'd shown up.
Thankfully, it seems like my plane wasn't noticed, and I manage to parachute into the forest near the edge of town, just over the little hill. It was a given that I'd get caught in the trees, but I turn the parachute into a bag more akin to a ratty-looking hiking pack and make myself a staircase to get down.
Once I get to the forest floor I hunker down behind a log for a few minutes, listening and watching for any sign that anyone was nearby, not like they'd have any reason to be, but it pays to be cautious.
Once I'm sure the surrounding area is clear I set out through the dark forest.
Thanks to my improved eyesight it's like walking at night during a full moon, though it's only a Waning Crescent. I quickly reach the edge of town, and after wandering around for a bit I manage to find what looks like a general store.
Some bells on the door jingle when I walk in, and a person who I guess is the owner looks up from tying a leader on a long line.
"Howdy! I don't think I've seen you around here before."
"Well, it's my first time being here sir. Just passin' through. I was wondering if you had any soda pop in stock."
He looks thoughtful for a minute before nodding slowly. "Yep… I reckon I do. Whatcha willing to pay for it?"
"How does… fifty for all of it sound?"
He grins and I can immediately know he probably paid a quarter of that, but I still get the better deal, because the money in my pocket is made of nanomaterials. "You got yourself a deal little lady."
He loads the soda into my bag, then moves behind the counter before I hand him two twenties and a ten. They're almost flawless, and the only way he could possibly tell if they're fake is if he holds them up to the light.
Which is of course the first thing he does.
'Fuck.'
He holds the first bill up to the light from the ceiling and I take my chance while he's distracted. I grab the bag and throw it on one shoulder while sprinting out the door, running as fast as my legs will carry me. Behind me I hear him yell, but I don't dare stop, not when people up here have every reason to kill if they catch someone stealing.
I almost reach the end of the street, and gunshots ring out behind me as the store owner fires a pistol at me. The gunshots attract the attention of the other nearby households, and before I know it there's a half dozen people chasing me as I run through the town towards the forest.
The more houses I pass the more people join in the chase, both old and young alike, and eventually I get headed off by some men in their mid-late twenties with Gaffs and fishing spears. This redirects me back into the village, and even more people head me off.
It's not long before I realize what's going on, and my suspicions are only confirmed when I get headed off again and turn the corner, finding the docks and the water's edge are the only place to run.
'Shit! The bastards herded me like cattle!'
I run out onto the end of the dock and drop my bag, wheeling around to get ready for a fight.
Then I finally notice all of the boats are missing, and look over my shoulder to find them some twenty feet off the dock, occupied by fishermen with an assortment of bludgeons, gaffs, spears, and a couple with firearms.
"Enterprise, I've been had. I could really use some help right now." I mumble nervously while looking back down the dock at the slowly advancing mob.
{I told you not to get caught! Ugh, fine. I've got fighters on the way.}
"I'm sorry; they usually don't check the money!" I hiss back before the shop owner steps forward and raises an old revolver, firing three times at me.
At such close range there's no chance of physically reacting in time, so I raise enough of a Klein field to protect my head and chest, watching the bullets stop dead a few feet away from me.
"She's a Fog! Kill her!" Someone yells, and the mob on the dock surges forward before I use my klein field to knock them all back.
Some fall into the water while others are sent sprawling onto the deck, and just when I think I've given myself some breathing room I hear a metallic click behind me.
I raise a Klein field behind me protecting only my vitals just as several pistol slugs occupy the same space and stop cold. I allow myself a small grin before another pair of loud blasts catch me off guard. The unprotected lower half of my body erupts in pain and I scream as my legs give out, dropping me onto the dock.
"Hahaaah! Shotgun, bitch!" One of the fishermen in the boats yells, taunting me as I try to get back up, to no avail.
"Let's toy with this bitch a little before we kill 'er!" Someone else yells before another gunshot rings out and a bullet tears into my achilles tendon. I scream out in pain again, but it only seems to encourage them.
"Would ya' look at that! She's putting an act on for us!"
I crawl over to the bag and put it on my right shoulder, using my left arm to pull myself along towards the end of the dock as I feel Enterprise's planes approaching.
"Crawling away isn't going to save you!" Another fisherman roars with laughter before a bullet tears into my left elbow. The joint folds in on itself and I faceplant onto the deck, laying there with my forehead on the salty-smelling wood as the planes angle in for an attack run.
All the fishermen laugh at me, shooting near me to scare me into moving so they can get another shot at something unimportant. I shield myself with my Klein Field from every bullet that risks hitting something important and wait.
Soon enough the laughter dies out, replaced by the angry snarling of engines as the planes dive in.
"Incoming!" One of them yells, causing the rest to scatter before the fighters strafe the area around me, filling the now-empty boats with holes after their owners jumped into the water.
The planes roar overhead and circle around for another pass as another sound makes itself known: a low-pitched humming of Fog engines.
Then all hell breaks loose as a PT boat uses its dual .50 caliber machine guns to rake the beach as it pulls up to the dock, the cacophony almost drowning out the clump of boots on the dock as a pair of hands grab me by the armpits.
"Christ, Enterprise she's fucked up!" One of the PT hybrids yells while dragging me onto the boat. The second my feet leave the dock I can feel the boat start to accelerate. The backpack is pulled off my shoulder and laid aside before she rolls me over so I'm on my back, looking up at her.
"Lightning?" I groan, using the girl's nickname.
"Yeah it's me. Hang in there, I'm gonna take you to Hope."
"Hope…? Who's Hope?"
"The best hybrid medical ship on this side of the Panama Canal. She'll have you fixed up in no time."