Chapter 3 - Warspite
Warspite, (former) Grand Old Lady of the Royal Navy, a battleship sworn to the Crown, receiver of many accolades and reincarnated veteran, did not like her current situation.
She was currently stuck at the back of an unmarked car, sitting right next to Illustrious, her fellow miscreant, while two men dressed in black suits sat at the front, one of them driving the car to its current destination, some location meant for her 'punishment detail'.
She had briefly wondered about the sort of thing the 'good' Admiral had planned for her at that place. Would she have to discipline younger trainees? Was she going to be subjected to some experiments that the science division was busy on? Or was she just going to be left alone to stew?
She ground her teeth in frustration as she thought of the possibilities. Whatever, it wasn't my fault in the first place. It was the simpering heavy cruiser that chose to throw her beer mug after I called out on Bismarck's performance in the first place, why am I being punished just because I chose to defend myself from those stupid krauts? Continuing to grouch and grumble, she shifted heavily in her seat.
A chord of clicking tongues came from Illustrious, a hint of disapproval underneath. "My dear Warspite, could you please not keep shifting in your seat? It's uncomfortable feeling your constant trashing about." The small, bespectacled carrier, barely reaching up to Warspite's shoulders, nonchalantly reading off her clipboard.
Warspite gave her the evil eye in response, snapping like a wounded beast. "You keep to your calculations, Illustrious, and don't bother me."
"As the Americans would say, I have all the liberty to complain about your actions, Warspite, and I intend to continue to do so until you concede." Illustrious adjusted her glasses, continuing to keep her eyes directed at her clipboard.
"What?" The battleship pushed herself upright, glaring at Illustrious. "Have you ever considered not being a constant irritant for once?"
"And have you considered not being the same to our foreign comrades?" Illustrious finally trained her pair of eyes on Warspite, the glassy orbs filled with the urge to roll.
As the two shipgirls glared at each other for a few moments, Warspite finally relented and returned to her sulking position. "Well, krauts don't deserve any respect..." She murmured to herself.
Several minutes passed before the car came to a stop.
"Ladies, we are at our destination." One of the agents informed the shipgirls.
For the first time since she got on the car, Warspite looked out of the window. The car was now in front of a pair of metal gates, where a massive Victorian mansion waited behind. Definitely not a military base.
Where are we? She thought, curiosity stamping out her grumpiness. A pair of guards armed with assault rifles and other weaponry, with a strange badge attached to their chest, walked up to the car, speaking to the agents in whispers.
This has to be somewhere important, or there wouldn't be guard holding such equipment here...perhaps we are sent as honor guard for some bigwig? At the last thought, her grouchiness returned.
The guards retreated, and the double gates swung inwards. The car drove past it, heading for the mansion.
Warspite and Illustrious waited with their luggage in a plain, red-carpeted room, with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling lighting the room. Illustrious still seemed oblivious to any occurrences, still checking her notes, while Warspite was still wondering about their circumstance, unconsciously adjusting the dress that covered her legs and the formal military coat that adorned her upper body.
Footsteps came from one of the corridors attached to the room, and both of them immediately turned their attention to it.
Two women emerged; the first was a silver-haired, middle-aged women with an eyepatch adorning her right eye while wearing a formal suit, while the latter was a younger woman wearing a tight-fitting yellow uniform that only emphasised her massive chest.
Both of them stopped, and the older one greeted them. "Good evening, Warspite and Illustrious. My name is Sir Integra Hellsing, and I'm the head of the Hellsing Organisation. We shall be handling your...ahem, 'punishment detail'."
"Since none of you have had this explained to you, let me do so now. The Hellsing Organisation is a secret organisation, operating outside of the traditional military hierachy and handled directly by the Crown. The reason for this is because of our mission - to investigate and exterminate any supernatural forces attacking the nation of Britain."
She stepped back, waiting for the two shipgirls to digest the information, who were acting like a deer caught in headlights.
"When you mention supernatural threats, I believe you aren't talking about the Abyssals, am I right?" Illustrious regained her senses first.
"Indeed, yes, glad that you have grasped that easily, for it makes our job here easier," Sir Integra answered. "When we talk of supernatural threats, we talk about the myths and legends of monsters and creatures ages old...or rather, vampires, more commonly."
"Vampires..." Warspite pondered for a little. It might be true... "How about some proof before we begin?"
"Very well. Seras, if you may." The leader of the Hellsing Organisation stepped to the side, revealing her companion. The younger woman stepped forward, breathing in heavily. Suddenly, her eyes turned red, and her right arm exploded into many bloody red tendrils.
Both shipgirls jolted backwards at the show of power, while Sir Integra simply pointed at her companion. "This, is a vampire. Vampires have increased strength, speed, resilience and a whole other set of powers, alongside their curse to feed upon the blood of the living. You may or may not have read the legends, but this is all you really need to understand them. Of course, we at Hellsing also do consider other threats of the supernatural, but insofar, vampires have been our greatest and largest foe."
"Before I continue, do either of you have any questions to ask?"
Warspite swallowed. "Yes. Why were we sent here as 'punishment detail'?"
A small chuckle came from the female knight's grizzled face. "Well, it is a punishment, even if you may feel that it is undeserved, Warspite." At this statement, a feeling of irritation began to gnaw at the battleship's bones, a sense of injustice spreading through her body. "But I digress. The reason for your recruitment, was that Hellsing had seen a sudden upsurge in supernatural activity, and the Royal Navy had volunteered the both of you when we sent a request for reinforcments to the Crown. It just so happened that both of you just happened to have...a convenient reason for your transfer and disappearence."
"And how long will this deployment last?" Warspite asked.
"For the moment, indefinitely. You will be stationed here, in this manor. You are allowed to keep speaking with your old comrades, but you are not allowed to talk about Hellsing nor any of your operations. Any other questions?"
Silence persisted for awhile. "Good. If so, let me talk about your upcoming operation. This may seem sudden, but given recent developments, we have to speed up things."
"Huh?" That fast? Despite getting caught off guard, both of them reacted quickly to the news.
"We were investigating a town that has had several cases of child disappearences, which was alerted to us when investigators found signs of supernatural activity. Only a few hours ago, one of our scout units had gone dark, and hence we are going to deploy the both of you, given how the events do not seem like normal vampire assaults. Are the both of you ready?"
Both shipgirls looked at each other and swallowed. "Yes," they replied one after another.
"Good. Firstly, you will need to follow Seras here to the armory," Sir Integra pointed to the vampire, who had deactivated her power, "so that we can outfit you with the proper anti-vampire munitions. You may leave your items here, for I will have the household staff transport them to your respective rooms. Any other questions?"
"No si- I mean, ma,am." Warspite replied, a chill of excitement flowing down her back.
"Good. Well, farewell, and good hunting." The vampire hunter turned her back and walked out of the room, leaving them with the vampiress.