Thaw
I was starting to get a hang for how this port ran, Erik had given me more responsibility over the last week, though I have a feeling it was more of a test than anything else. While walking towards 'The Coop' as it was called on the base, the place where the manjuu slept, in theory anyway. I was almost there when I felt something tug at my pant legs, stopping and looking down, I see a brown cat, with a black officer's cap and gold shoulder boards. Tilting my head to the side I knelt and lifted the iron cross that was hanging from the collar to read the name Gral, I also notice it has a tube hanging on its side. Raising an eyebrow I ask, "What is it, Gral?"
Gral turns to put the tube closer to me and I get the hint to see what's in there, opening it I see a note, taking it out I open it up. Inside I see some very hastily scrawled, barely legible, barely comprehensible script that says, 'Reed me hooman. Look at dis paperz hooman. Good hooman.'
Scratching my head, I look up from the paper and see a group of manjuu with shovels, pickaxes, hard hats, and a box being carried between two of them. Tilting my head to the side I start walking towards them, when they notice me, they scatter, dropping the box in the process. Going over to it, I kneel again and open the top, the color draining from my face as I see the contents: women's undergarments.
I close the box up and jump away from it like it's radioactive, this is something I cannot be anywhere near. Turning around I walk away, calmly so that I don't draw any attention. I'm not sure what to do about this, and I'm not sure who to ask about it either. I had gotten about a block away from the box when I hung my head and sighed, I still had to go and check in with the manjuu, there was something Erik had them working on and he tasked me to make sure it was on task. Putting my left hand into my left cargo pocket on my pants, I felt the carefully folded note for the lead manjuu. Groaning to myself, I continue back to 'The Coop' to hand this note over. Going back around the block, I see the box is gone, I guess they must've come back for it? With a shrug I continue on my way, wondering why they'd want a box of undergarments.
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When I got to 'The Coop', I could feel the thumping of base in my chest, they had a serious sound system in there it seems. The building looked like a warehouse from the outside, sort of, but it had been painted in bright colors with pictures of the little chickens doing crazy things, like flying airplanes, manning ships, and holding up severed heads of sirens. The windows up high were frosted over, and I could see bright lights inside the building. Opening the door, I'm blasted by how humid and warm the air is inside; I mean it's springtime outside, but inside it felt like summer in the tropics! Opening my eyes from the sudden blast of heat and noise, I'm surprised to see massive pools, tropical plants, hammocks made out of panties, swings made out of bras, and a giant slingshot with stockings used as the strap. My jaw drops as I watch a manjuu back up against the strap made out of stockings and then it launches itself into the pool at a rather high speed. The little yellow bird bounced and skipped along the water, slamming into another one before whizzing towards me only to slam into the wall with an oddly satisfying 'thunk.'
Looking to my right at the bird, I watch as it pushes itself off the wall and falls to the ground only to get back up, put its wings in the air, and chirp, the rest of the room chirping in response. Clearing my throat I tap it on the head to get it to look at me and I say, "I need to see the boss manjuu."
The little bird makes a motion for me to follow along.
After a few twists and turns through the building, it leads me to a back room, it knocks twice then lets out a series of chirps before the door slowly opens and I see a fat-looking manjuu, with a cigar in one wing, cards in another, panties in the center of a table, with stacks beside it, on the other side of the table, I see Oscar with cards in her hands and a much, much smaller stack of panties beside her. Both of them blink at me and I reach into my pocket to take out the note, the manjuu takes it from me, opens and reads it fast before motioning for another one of the birds to come over. They whisper quickly before the fat one slaps the one that came over, then it takes a pencil and scribbles something down on the note before having the one it slapped put the note back in my pocket. Before I can say anything the one that got slapped tugs on me and motions for me to leave, I sigh and ask, "Did I get an answer for Admiral Winters?"
Oscar, the fat manjuu, and the one that got slapped all nod in unison so I shrug and take the note to Erik.
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Pushing open the secretary's office for Erik, I'm not sure who I expected to find on the desk this time, but whoever it was, was someone I hadn't met before, she had white hair, with a rather large bust that seemed all the larger as she was stretching, making the thin straps on her grey uniform strain against her cleavage. When she was done stretching, she opened her rose-colored eyes and started to smirk as she looked at me before asking, "What can I do for you, Kommandant?"
From the way she was looking at me, I kind of felt like I was being sized up like a cut of meat in front of a hungry dog, I cleared my throat and asked, "Is the Admiral in and does he have time?"
She leans forward like she was trying to get me to look down her top as she looked at the computer screen before saying, "The Admiral has about twenty minutes, so best hurry."
Feeling unbelievably awkward I do my best not to look down her top as I go to his door, knock twice and wait for the, "Enter."
Risking a look over my shoulder, I see this kansen look me up and down again before making a kissing motion with her lips and I slipped into his office. Closing the door behind me, I take my cap off and tug at my uniform collar, Erik looks at me and tilts his head to the side, and asks, "What did Yorck do?"
I shrug as I say, "Nothing directly, just left me with the feeling if I wanted 'it' from her, she'd give it up on the desk, right now."
He stops typing on a keyboard and slides something into his desk, making the holographic screen vanish as he smirks and laughs, "She's just screwing with you. She's a flirt, but not the type to go at it on the desk, during work hours."
"Right, anyway, so I dropped off the note as you asked." I tell him while walking over to his desk and add, "Did you know that place is like a party frat and mafia hideout combined?"
"Yeah, figures right? They do all the construction around here after all. Though I'm still wondering why and or how the meowfficers fit into everything." He says to me, leaning back in his chair.
I shrug as I say, "Well, I saw Oscar playing cards with the fattest manjuu I've ever seen. They seemed to be betting women's underwear." Pausing to dig out the note and tossing it to him as I add, "Speaking of that, I got stopped by Gral, in what looked like an attempt to distract me, while a group of manjuu carried a box full of bras and panties someplace."
"So that's what happens to them!" he says in a tone that tells me he'd been trying to figure something out.
"Come again?" I ask with a head tilt as I sit on this side of his desk.
"Ever since I got here, there have been constant underwear thefts, and I took the flak for them for a while." He tells me.
"Huh, well in 'The Coop' they seem to use them as hammocks, swings, and personal slingshots, as well as some kind of currency." I say while pondering this side of the base that even Erik didn't know about, before I add, "So, what was the note about?"
"I don't know how the manjuu do it, but they seem to build things faster than anyone knows, but ever since you brought back those files on type two rigging, I asked them to build something I found in it, for Bismarck." He says as he pulls out his keyboard again, making the screen appears in the air. With a few keystrokes he brings up an image of this three-headed mechanical dragon, as it rotates around he adds, "From what I was reading it is compatible with Bismarck class kansen, I want to gift this to Bismarck on our wedding day."
"So, what happens to her current rigging then?" I ask with a head tilt.
"That's the neat part about this unit, it would work in concert with it, not replace it. According to the files it has a whole ton of advanced features built into it and in theory, it can be called to work wither either Bismarck or Tirpitz." He tells me, I can hear the excitement in his voice, then he turns his attention to me and says, "So, how are things going with Tirpitz?"
Shifting around in the chair, I'm suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable as I cough and admit, "I honestly don't know, we had a movie night, and she likes to listen to me talk to her before she falls asleep, but aside from one drunken kiss and a few pecks on the cheeks, nothing has happened."
"Huh." He says in a surprised tone of voice before adding, "I guess I owe Bismarck ten marks then."
"What?" I ask while blinking.
Erik shrugs as he says, "I said the two of you had done more than that, Bismarck was adamant that you hadn't, and we bet ten marks on it."
"Your betting on my love life?" doing my best to sound offended, but really, I'm kind of impressed he had the balls to do that.
Erik shrugs before getting out from behind his desk and moving to the window to look out at the port and I follow, just in time to see the second Bismarck class hull slipping into the port with her red turret tops, grey and black dazzle camo. I felt a smile on my face at seeing Triptiz returning to port after a supply run to the northern patrol fleet this time. Erik looks over his shoulder and smirks at me as he says, "Why not go greet her at the docks then? I'm sure she would like to see you. I mean you're already smiling like an idiot."
I felt my cheeks get so fucking hot.
Coughing to clear my throat as I rub the back of my head and ask, "What are you implying?"
"That I think you're in love." He says with a smirk.
"Bull shit." I counter.
Maybe? I mean I do like spending time with Tirpitz…
Erik shrugs again and says to me, "Look, I can tell she's good for you, you've been a smoker for as long as I've known you, James, and yet you quit smoking because Tirpitz doesn't like the smell of it. And Bismarck is loathed to admit it, but she can tell you're good for Tirpitz, she's getting more open to talking to others because she's around you."
Fuck.
I hang my head and sigh, "What's going to happen when you think I'm good enough to return to the Monarchy?"
"You don't have to, I can keep you here if you'd like. I mean I like having someone I can delegate things to." Erik tells me with another shrug.
"It's a tempting offer," I admit while I watch the large hull make its way toward a berth.
"Look, I can clear you for service at any point, but think it over alright? And don't give me an answer until I'm back from my honeymoon, because I will be leaving the girls and the port in your care during that time, to give you an idea of what command of this place will be like." He says as he reaches over to squeeze my shoulder.
I give him a sideways look and ask, "Why are you talking like I'd be in charge of the port if I decide to stick around?"
"Because, commanding this place is taking up a ton of time from me, while I play chess games with the other members of the ruling council. I need someone I know and trust running this place while I try to get things going on the right path for full integration of the girls into worldwide society." He admits.
My jaw drops open. I mean, I knew Erik was doing something at a high level, but I didn't expect this!
Blinking a couple of times I say, "What the fuck? Why didn't you tell me that was what you really do?"
He looks at me out of the corner of his eyes as she says, "Were you in the head space for it?"
Hanging my head I sigh, "No."
"Exactly. Now go, greet Tirpitz at the docks." He says while giving me a light shove.
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At the docks, I twist sideways to avoid getting run over by Aurora who was being chased by Hipper, while Hipper yells at her in German, "Get back here you sea cow! I swear you are worse than Eugen!"
Down the jetty I see a tall woman with her back to me, her white hair in a bob haircut, her black skirt hugging her hips and stern tightly, I watch as she bends at her hips to hand something to a manjuu, her stern making a perfect heart shape. And I'm suddenly reminded of how it looks when naked, every curve, and every fold. Shaking my head a couple of times, to shake loose the memory, I wait for her to stand up again and I call out, "Tirpitz!"
She turns to see me standing a few feet back, when her blue eyes land on me, they look so warm and I see a smile on her lips before she starts to walk over to me, holding a datapad to her chest. Once she was within arm's reach she lifted the datapad to cover the lower half of her face while she took on a bit of a blush and greeted me, "James."
Honestly, I didn't mind that she used my name, even with both of us in uniform right now, both of us still on duty, I just liked hearing her say my name. I look off to the side and ask, "Did everything go well?"
She nodded and lowered the datapad, a smile on her lips, god her lips look soft and pink. Tirpitz brushes some hair over an ear as she starts to say, "Yes, we didn't encoun…"
I stopped her by making a move, I kissed her.
Her whole body tensed up, before I felt her lips relax and lean into the kiss, lifting my hands to the side of her face, I gently caress her cheeks and she lets out a happy moan before I break the kiss. Once it was broken, she covered her face with the datapad, but I could see the pink glow behind it as she mumbled, "I liked that."
"Me too." I whisper before reaching up to lower the datapad, but still hold her hand as I add, "Would you like to go grab something to eat?"
She didn't try to let go of my hand but used the datapad to try and hide her face again as she nodded up and down. As we started to walk off in search of food, I smiled at her, deep down, I knew this felt right, especially when I saw that smile on her face, the same smile I had seen when she saw the cake I made for her and said we could bake more together. That smile made my heart want to jump out of my chest, a smile I wanted to see her wear more. To my surprise, Tirpitz leaned her head against my shoulder and looked up at me as she whispered, "I found I was missing you during the trip."
"I was missing you too." I tell her as I lean my head against hers.
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