"Kom~man~dant." Odin whispered softly as Isaac was awoken by the restless moving of several of his wives.
Isaac sighed happily, despite his fight before being abducted, he was completely satisfied seeing the majority of his wives laying around him.
"Odin? Are you the first to wake up?" Isaac asked, trying to move his arm but finding it shackled to the metal headboard.
"I am. The rest are still sleeping. It's amazing honestly. Your stamina is something to behold." Odin said as she unlocked the shackle on his wrist, allowing him to attempt to sit up. He froze when he realized that Friedrich had remained connected with him as the last one to have her turn with him.
"Dear Husband? Not so rough, okay? I'm still a bit sensitive." Friedrich spoke softly without opening her eyes.
"Friedrich?!" Isaac asked as quietly as his surprise would allow.
"You think I wouldn't take my time, Dear Husband? You're just as much a fool as you are dense." Friedrich spoke softly as she leaned forward, grinding her hips into him, letting him know she meant business.
Isaac flashed a quick glance to Odin, who was already off the bed and standing just out of reach, shaking her head with a smile.
"You reap what you sow, Kommandant. Now that I have been satisfied, I shall resume fleet operations, beginning with green lighting the mission you proposed to Enterprise." Odin said as she adjusted her hat.
Isaac watched helplessly as Odin left the room, forcing Isaac to fend for himself against the powerhouse of Sexual desire known as Friedrich.
Eagle and Nimi stirred as they heard Isaac trying to keep from passing out under Friedrich's advances.
"Friedrich, haven't you had enough?" Nimi asked, finding herself warming up to the idea of another round.
"Nimi? Good morning." Friedrich said as she leaned over and gave Nimi a kiss on her cheek before allowing herself to continue the pleasure from the night before.
"Friedrich, it's morning already! Isaac is needed to command the fleet." Eagle spoke as she hung on Isaac's arm, finding herself unwilling to leave his side. Friedrich looked at her with a soft smile, a healthy blush spread across her face.
"Odin is dealing with it. What is so wrong about wanting to savor my time with our husband?" Friedrich asked as she stopped rocking her hips and looked at Eagle.
"You have had Darling trapped beneath you all night. We are in the midst of an offensive maneuver and it would be wise to have our Admiral on deck and ready to issue orders." Eagle said as she looked at Friedrich, noticing the wheels turning in her head.
"I suppose you have a point… But I will finish what I started before I let him go. After all, he must be punished for initially refusing our advances." Friedrich said as she began moving again, the curves of her body rolling in a hypnotic rhythm as she slowly brought herself and Isaac to the summit of ecstasy before allowing them both the satisfaction of diving from the top, achieving a gift received many times over, but nevertheless enjoyed.
Nearly half an hour later, Isaac found himself breathing heavily as Friedrich lifted her form from his chest.
"There. I have been satisfied, for the moment, Dear Husband. Don't neglect us again, or we will have to have another… intervention to make you understand." Friedrich said as she kissed his cheek.
Isaac recoiled slightly at the thought of Odin tasing him again.
"Can we do it without Odin electrocuting me?" Isaac asked.
"Where's the punishment of an intervention if you get to dictate the terms, Dear Husband?" Friedrich asked as Nimi looked at Friedrich.
"Friedrich, I think he has learned. I don't think any of us will be without his attention for the foreseeable future." Nimi said, her voice being the one to rile Friedrich from her spot on Isaac's lap.
"Fine." Friedrich said as she looked down at Isaac, his breathing deep.
"I shall see you up on deck then, Dear Husband?" Friedrich asked.
"Yeah…" Isaac said as he looked up at the ceiling as Eagle and Nimi looked at him.
"As… forceful as they were, Liebling… I am glad you took the time last night." Nimi said.
"I'll admit… I have been way too focused on this war as of late. Without Nimitz here, I'm back to being the primary Admiral of this navy." Isaac said.
"You can always have Odin take command." Eagle said.
"Not when she's here, fighting with the rest of you for her turn to find… relief." Isaac said.
"True…" Eagle said as she hung her head.
Isaac was about to get up and move when a knock came to the door. Isaac thought quickly and threw a blanket over the still naked forms of Nimi and Eagle. He threw on a pair of his uniform pants before answering.
"It's open." Isaac said.
Isaac was surprised to see Belfast standing in the doorway.
"Master… a word please?" Belfast spoke. Isaac could see from where he stood that tear tracks had marred her beautiful face.
"Nimi, Eagle. Once you are dressed, return to your posts. I shall default to Odin's orders upon my return." Isaac said.
"Understood, Liebling." Nimi said as she quickly got dressed before kissing Isaac and leaving. Eagle followed closely behind after laying a heartfelt kiss on his lips.
"See you back on deck soon, Darling." Eagle said as she shuffled past Belfast on her way out.
"Belfast?" Isaac asked.
"Master… It is a breach of my promise to my lady… but I need to talk to you about it." Belfast said.
"A promise to… Elizabeth?" Isaac asked, earning him a nod from Belfast.
"Come in… or if you'd rather go somewhere else, we can do that." Isaac said, realizing one's hesitance to enter his quarters.
"Here is… acceptable." Belfast said as she entered his room after bowing.
"What's up, Belfast? I see the red around your eyes. It's clear that you've been crying." Isaac said.
"Bel." Belfast said.
"What?" Isaac asked.
"Just… call me Bel. Her Majesty did so, Warspite does so. I feel like you should be allowed to address me as such." Belfast said.
"Oh… Alright. Bel… What's wrong?" Isaac asked as he walked to his desk, still covered with certain garments from the night before. He tossed them aside and turned his chair to face Belfast who had sat on a stool by the bed.
"I've been talking with Bremerton since she got up and about. She's been telling me different ways to try and grieve the death of Her Majesty. But… I can't get the image out of my head, nor her final words out of my mind." Belfast spoke softly. This was a side of Belfast that Isaac had never seen. One that laid bare her true feelings and personality beneath her formal maid exterior.
"I… understand your pain, Bel. Even with the good things here… her death weighs heavily on my conscience." Isaac said.
"What do I do? I fear that if I don't fix this… my service to you, and my execution of Her Majesty's final order will bear nothing but empty promise." Belfast said as she looked in Isaac's direction, but unable to look him in the eye.
"What was her final order to you, Bel?" Isaac asked.
"To watch over you… until the day you no longer draw breath. Until the day you go to see her again, I have been tasked with ensuring your safety and utmost comfort in life." Belfast said as she averted her gaze.
"She told you… to stay with me… with no regard for you?" Isaac asked.
Belfast shook her head.
"It is an honor, nay, the greatest honor I could have to serve you as her final wish. Someone like you… I could see being the envy of Kansen the world over. You treat us… like people. We are more than just weapons to you. And that is what almost made me fall for you." Belfast admitted.
"Almost?" Isaac asked.
"I promised myself that I would steer clear once I found that my lady had... feelings for you. But even now, with her no longer here, it doesn't feel right for me to have at you now. So I shall remain content to stay by your side. And should you ever decide to cast your love towards this royal maid… I shall allow it. But I cannot take your hand in marriage, as you have with several thus far, knowing that I would be stealing the right of my lady." Belfast explained.
"Bel. Look. I love this fleet like my own family. Because you all have become my family. I have a daughter with Shinano. And that girl, by all accounts, is the safest child known to humanity or otherwise. If validation is what you desire, then you shall have it. That promise you made to yourself… I know time changes things. And if you should ever change your mind, there's plenty of love to go around." Isaac said as he looked at Belfast, who had become fixated on his chest.
"Master, your heart is beating awfully quick." Belfast said, either in an attempt to steer the conversation away from herself, or in an attempt to begin executing Elizabeth's orders.
"Bel. Don't you worry about that right now." Isaac said as he walked over and stood next to her, prompting her to stand to face him.
"Master…" Belfast said.
"Isaac." Isaac corrected her.
"Master Isaac." Belfast attempted.
"Just Isaac, Bel." Isaac spoke, offering a hand to dry her tears, an offer she readily took advantage of.
"Isaac… what do I do?" Belfast asked.
"You do what you can knowing that you have my support, and the support of this fleet. Anything else can be ground to dust." Isaac said as he opened his arms.
In a great display of weakness from her usual stoic demeanor, Belfast gave Isaac a hug that seemed to grow into something more of using him for support as she began to cry into his shoulder.
"She may have been your master, but she was just like family to you, wasn't she?" Isaac asked.
"I had been with her since my inception. My awakening on this earth was greeted with her Baton and Crown always within view. And even when Lady Dreadnaught would scold and punish me, it was always Her Majesty who would slip me words of encouragement. In the most respectful sense… I saw her as my mother." Belfast spoke between sobs.
"So losing her… is just as hard on you as my escape from the Union was for me." Isaac said.
"How so?" Belfast asked.
"I watched my mother get captured and beaten all the way to the city center before being raised on a stake and tortured. And as my boat floated away on the currents, I watched my Father get mowed down by Explorers as he attempted to save my mother from being burned alive. They were made examples of… since they fought for my escape." Isaac explained.
"Isaac… I'm so…" Belfast was stopped by a gentle hand on her cheek.
"No. No apologies. You are not the one who killed them. So you should have no guilt to feel for their loss. I was not telling you to elicit sympathy, Bel. I was telling you… so that you know I understand your pain. Elizabeth was a good friend… and her final words haunt me just like they do you." Isaac said.
"What did she say to you?" Belfast asked.
"She told me she loved me." Isaac said as Belfast's breathing stopped.
"She… told you that?" Belfast asked.
"In her dying breath… before she disappeared before my eyes… She told me that she loved me. And in that moment… I realized that my feelings towards her were more than just friends. But it didn't matter. She was gone. I didn't have the courage to tell her I loved her in return." Isaac said.
"And is that a…" Belfast asked.
"A regret? Yes. To know that she died not knowing my answer to her confession will weigh on me until the last breath voids my lungs and I pass on. I will never forgive myself for not giving her an answer." Isaac said as Belfast held him tighter.
"Isaac. I know I said I wouldn't join your… bevy of wives. But I think… I'll leave it open ended. If you decide that this maid is worthy of a ring… I will not refuse you, my Master. But it brings me some closure… knowing that there is one who truly understands my suffering… and one who can calm my heart during a time like this." Belfast said, looking into Isaac's eyes for the first time since she had walked in before letting go and taking a few steps back, drying her tears.
"You seem more confident, that's for sure, Bel." Isaac said.
"I have a Master who is fighting heart and soul for a life worth living. And that same master understands the pain of a maid like me, and the loss that one can feel." Belfast responded.
"You have my utmost support, Belfast. Don't forget that." Isaac said with a smile.
"Also, Master… You may wish to put something under your pants. You forgot to pull the sipper on them." Belfast said with a small snicker.
"You waited until now to tell me that!?" Isaac asked as he quickly covered himself. Despite his embarrassment, he felt relief seeing Belfast smiling once more.
Belfast went to the door and reached around to the outside before pulling in a clear bag.
"I took your white uniform and laundered it while contemplating talking with you about this issue… I hope you find it to your liking." Belfast said as she turned and headed for the door.
"Wait outside for me. We'll head to the bridge together." Isaac said as he took his uniform and quickly dressed himself before emerging into the corridor and walking with Belfast to the bridge of the Norfolk.