A tall olive skinned woman stood on the bow of a dated ship. Much like the rest of her countrymen, her ship was armed to the teeth with guns of varying caliber and size. The woman herself was armed to the 9's as well, as a heavy looking revolver sat firmly at her side. A double barreled long gun, standing the length of her leg, leaned against the railing of the bow as she steamed along behind Shinano. Her hand came up to her wide brimmed hat as a gust of wind struck her ship, blowing back parts of her sectioned dress, embroidered with the number 35 in gold. The dress was held fast by a belt with the letters TEX and a star on the buckle. A black top and bikini bottom rounded out the look along with black and gold high heeled boots.
"I'm sorry, but could you tell me who you are again?" Shinano's bulin asked, scratching her head.
"Battleship Texas, of the Eagle union, named after the lone star state of the Union.
"What are you doing all the way out here? It's highly unusual to find a battleship still afloat in enemy territory." The bulin said.
"Well. I was out here on a hunt, little one. But it seems that you all have something a bit more interesting going than some wild hog chase." Texas said as she leaned back against the rail of the bow.
"The design isn't something we have seen before, your ship that is. Most union ships don't have this type of turret layout." The bulin said.
"Ah. Yes. Just like my namesake, the Union sought to pack as many guns onto my vessel as they possibly could before releasing me upon the sea. But even back in 1914, they realized that they had more real estate, so they loaded this old girl down with AA guns after Pearl Harbor. 82 in total." Texas said with a voice full of pride.
"That is interesting too. We have limited information on you and your ship." The bulin said.
"Really? I thought news of my deeds had spread further than just Europe... oh well, I guess I can give you two youngins a small history lesson. I started life as a coal fired boat back during the great war. Along with my sister, New York, bless her heart. Immediately I was sent to Mexico following the Tampico incident, where a dumb misunderstanding led to the Union occupying Veracruz for like... six months i think. But as the revolution spread through Mexico, I and several other ships were deployed to protect Union citizens and Union resources." Texas said as the Bulins looked at her.
"From there, I was sent into the North Sea during the majority of the Great War. From there, most of my inter war life was spent crossing the oceans to attend conferences with the leader of my great nation before coming to rest in LA, much to my distain might I add." Texas scowled.
"Do you have something against LA, Miss Texas?" The bulins asked.
"No... not really. I am just slightly put off by a ship who's name is the state that LA resides in." Texas said.
"California?" The bulins asked.
"Yeah... that's her. She's a ditz through and through. Always thinking that everything's a game. And if it ain't involve her sister, Tennessee, you can forget about her remembering much. From what I had heard while I was escorting convoy's in the Atlantic, she had been sunk at Pearl. But looks like the brass decided to save her. Went through quite a bit, that child. Still doesn't annoy me any less though." Texas said as she turned to face the sea.
"You weren't at Pearl?" The bulins asked.
"No. I was in the Atlantic at the time. My role switched from Neutrality patrols to actively escorting materials for Lend-Lease. After some time stateside, I was useful in escorting Marines around the Atlantic." Texas said.
"Sounds like you has an amazing history, Miss Texas." The Bulins said.
"What? I haven't even told y'all about D-Day yet!" Texas said excitedly, showing a positive expression for the first time in the conversation.
"You were at D-Day?" One of the bulins asked.
"Was I at D-Day, pfft. Girlie, I was the only one there to hit all my targets. Something I, to this day, take full pride in." Texas said with a smug look.
"Really?" The bulins asked, their eyes now wide in amusement.
"Yup. Besides the fact that I nearly grounded myself to get close to the enemy and support my boys, They advanced so fast that the other battleships couldn't keep up with the requests for fire support so far inland. I got a request to shell a target that I knew was outside of gun range. But my boys needed help, and by damn it, I was gonna help them sons of guns. I flooded the starboard side of my vessel just to get my guns high enough to shell their target into oblivion. After that, I went to the Royal Navy for a short rest before continuing my part in the war. 2 years passed since that and I found myself out here, Shelling targets in Okinawa and Iwo Jima at the behest of the marines. And that catches us up to today, where I find myself following quite literally the biggest aircraft carrier I have ever seen." Texas said as she looked over at the Shinano.
"Well, regardless of the conditions, we are glad we found you, Miss Texas. We barely managed to escape Japan. Lady Shinano's quick thinking gave us a well needed distraction to throw Observer off course." The bulin said.
"You two aint the girls controlling that behemoth, are ya?" Texas asked.
"No. We are merely aids to Lady Shinano. We take care of most of her affairs since she spends most of her time asleep. There are times where she fights while she's asleep..." The bulins said.
"Fighting while sleeping? Now that's a bit much even for a gal like me." Texas said as she walked to her port side railing.
"Can I go and meet her? I'd like to see this lady Shinano." Texas said as the Bulins looked at each other.
XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX
"Isaac." Shinano said as she put her third glass of bourbon on the table.
"Hmm?" Isaac asked as they sat in a now quiet and empty bar.
"I think our new ally is wishing to meet with me. So... I must bid you a temporary farewell. Knowing that we have already made great headway from Leyte, we should be arriving within two days." Shinano said.
"Alright. I eagerly await your arrival. Thanks for keeping me company, Shinano." Isaac said with a smile.
"I will see you in the waking world soon enough. And I'll make you remember everything that happened in here." Shinano said as she leaned across the table and laid a kiss on Isaac's cheek.
Isaac blushed a bit as he watched Shinano walk towards the door, her tails exaggerating the sway of her hips at every opportunity.
Isaac smirked as Shinano faded into the distance.
"Well... now what?" Isaac asked as the bar slowly began to fade. The blackness around him began to lighten as his eyes became lighter.
"Looks like it's time to wake up." Isaac said softly as the dark abyss faded.
XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX
Isaac breathed sharply as he awoke, his bloodshot eyes pained by the sudden influx of light as they tried to adjust. He turned his head slightly to see the nurses walking about the med bay, carrying medical supplies and blood bags. He turned to the other side and saw Odin pointing and shouting, yet he was unable to hear. Isaac soon found out why as several soldiers were brought aboard on stretchers, burns and cuts covering their bodies as if there was a battle going outside.
Nobody seemed to hear him as he talked, or tried to do. Belfast was the first to notice the fact that he was awake and went to tell Odin.
Several minutes passed before Odin even acknowledged him, the look of pain and distain was unmistakable.
"I guess something happened after Nimi was killed..." Isaac thought as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"Alice, check him over. Belfast said he is finally awake." Odin said, upset with the current state of the battle outside the port.
"It might be a bit difficult, it seems that despite the fact the he is awake, he is unable to comprehend what is going on." Alice said.
"I can't hear you... but I can read your lips." Isaac said hoarsely, garnering the attention of Odin, Belfast, and Alice.
All three women stood in front of him, speaking slowly and as clearly as they could.
"How are you feeling?" Alice asked.
"I can tell that I will be in pain once whatever you gave me wears off." Isaac said.
"On a scale of 1-10, how bad is it right now?" Odin asked, curiously.
"4. Localized to my hand and back." Isaac said.
"What is going on?" Isaac asked.
"None of your concern, Isaac. You are recovering, and in no position to lead." Odin said as she knelt down in front of his bed.
"Bullshit. I am still the commander." Isaac said, a hint of anger creeping into his voice.
"Isaac... do you not remember what all happened yesterday?" Odin asked.
"Nimi died. That's it. I don't know how i got here. I don't know how long it's been. All I know is that one of my lovers is dead." Isaac spat.
"You have been relieved of command. I ordered it after you walked back into port after that fall you took. Your anger almost led to you bombing the entire city..." Odin said, shocked that Isaac was unable to remember any of this.
"I've been... relieved of command?" Isaac asked, all base in his voice lost.
"Odin, I fear you may have just made things worse." Belfast said as they watched Isaac attempt to pull his covers up over his head. Alice stepped forward and gently grabbed his wrist.
"Isaac... please don't take it personally. You are in no condition to be in command anyway. You are far too broken at the moment to lead effectively." Alice said.
"Am I even worthy to retake command if I get better?" Isaac whispered softly as Alice looked at Odin.
"Commander, it's best if you leave now." Alice said in a slightly agitated tone.
"What are you saying?" Odin asked.
"That you're in my jurisdiction, interfering with my patient. You conveyed the news, now go. Because now in addition to fixing him physically, I am going to have to remind him that all of this, the progress made and battles won, were all due to him. As someone from Britain who understands how people like him are treated... This was everything for him. So now he is a ship with no rudder. Go before you pull the rest of the wind from his sails." Alice said as Belfast turned to face Odin.
"I will stay and watch him. Please return to the battle before there are no more forces for him to command after he recovers." Belfast said.
Odin turned to look at Isaac. She knelt down and got right at eye level so he could see her.
"Vengeance is working." Odin said.
"What?" Isaac asked softly.
"You left Nimi's vessel clutching her ring. That ring no longer looks like Eagle's or Friedrich's." Odin said.
"Why?" Isaac asked.
"It looks like someone carved a stone out of a wisdom cube and replaced it, that is what her ring looks like. Vengeance seems to think that in her last moments... she thought of you strongly enough to imprint her soul onto that ring. There might be hope yet." Odin spoke clearly so she knew that he could read her lips.
Isaac's eyes glistened as new tears formed.
"If you get better, I have no doubt that you will be returning to command. After all, I am the one who took your place, Kommandant." Odin said as she took his hand gently.
"Odin... don't let MacArthur take command." Isaac said softly.
"What?" Odin asked.
"The reason this whole thing happened... I found out he ordered the deaths of 4 kansens to save face for his men. Their cubes... were left on the battlefield." Isaac said as he breathed heavily.
"Thank you, Kommandant. I will be sure to keep him in line. Is there anything else?" Odin asked.
"Shinano... she's coming." Isaac said as Odin and Belfast froze.
"What do you mean?" Odin asked.
"I can't remember much... but something about the fog failing and danger. She is coming to us." Isaac said as Odin stood.
"Then we better make ready to receive her." Odin said as she walked out of the med bay.
"Belfast?" Isaac asked. Belfast immediately placed herself in front of Isaac.
"Please find me my suit. I need to get up and help." Isaac said.
"Master, with all due respect, you are in no condition to go anywhere or do anything. Your suit was cut apart to make sure they could get to your wounds without making you sick." Belfast said.
"So I'm stuck here?" Isaac asked.
"I'm afraid so, Master." Belfast said as she brought over a cup of water.
"Here, drink please." Belfast said as she put the straw to his lips. He drank deeply, emptying the cup in a single drink.
"My back is tingling... how bad is it?" Isaac asked.
Belfast walked around his bed to look before going back in front of him.
"It looks a little better than when you came in, but they still need to keep it covered. Your skin is not yet healed." Belfast said.
"Damn it." Isaac said as Arizona and Pennsylvania barged in with I-13.
"Shikikan!" I-13 cried as she ran over to Belfast, causing Isaac to turn to look at her.
"13." Isaac said in a lighthearted tone.
"Is he okay, Belfast?" Pennsylvania asked.
"He just woke up not too long ago." Belfast said.
"Ari... do that thing." Pennsylvania said.
"Sis... I don't know if that would be a good Idea." Arizona said.
"What are you referring to?" Alice asked.
"Arizona once healed a sailor in the early moments of Pearl Harbor. He had been burned over 90% of his body. Arizona tended to him for as long as she could before she sank. Two to three days later, that sailor was already back to active duty, helping the repair crews fish the boats out of the water and put out fires through out the base." Pennsylvania said.
"90% you say?!" Alice asked.
"Yeah. She dragged him from one of the AA mounts that was mere feet from where one of the bombs penetrated." Pennsylvania said.
"How did you do it?" Alice asked.
"I don't know. All I did was follow protocol from the Nurse's corps. I poured water on the burns to cool him down. I took off the clothes that were still burning and covered him with a sterile blanket. I didn't do anything special." Arizona said.
"Well, then if it wasn't anything special, then it must be you. Come and assist me here. We can start by disinfecting his back and rewrapping the burn." Alice said as she pulled Arizona over, making sure that Arizona was the one doing the important bits of the process.
Isaac sat quietly, feeling a strange sensation spreading throughout his body.
"I feel... lighter." Isaac said as the sounds of the room began to permeate his ears.
"The sailor mentioned the same feeling as he recovered. He said the first thing he noticed was how quickly the pain from the burn went away." Pennsylvania said.
"It seems like she has the touch of an angel." Alice said as she looked at Arizona as she worked.
"She helped me too." I-13 said.
"What do you mean, 13?" Isaac asked.
"I could have swore I was going to die after facing down Strategist. But Arizona wouldn't let any of the men from the Iowa touch me. She did all the work in keeping me stable. I felt amazing by the third day." I-13 said.
"Seems like we have a miracle worker." Isaac said with a smile, wincing as the morphine began wearing off, bringing the pain from all of his injuries.
"I will have her do a full physical, see if we can't get you back in working order as soon as possible." Alice said as Arizona looked at Isaac.
"Do you want me to, Commander?" Arizona asked.
"If you think it is best." Isaac said as Arizona wrapped his wounds before moving on to tending the other areas of his body that had been injured.
Authors Note: A huge thank you to dishwasher1910 on reddit for allowing me to use his rendition of Texas for this fanfiction.