(Port of Yokosuka - 11:00)
Emily had walked on till she reached the dock where the Hood would've been moored after the mission. Here she had stopped, unable to move forward. The rest of her crew, along with the other students who took part in the battle, were still with the ships. And she had left them there, not even allowing members of her own crew to follow her.
As she stood alone at the dock, she became aware of the sound of wheels rolling towards her. She turned to see two girls, both in German uniform. The older one occupied a wheelchair, with one of her legs in plaster.
The wheelchair was stopped before reaching Emily, and the younger girl who pushed it walked to her. The injured occupier of the wheelchair was a somewhat small girl with light blonde hair, but the girl who pushed it was far ahead of her in those dominant physical characteristics.
She was white haired. And her almost childlike appearance was only enhanced by the large coat she wore over her shoulders, which seemed to function as a cloak. This girl with an angelic appearance now saluted Emily.
"Captain Kreutzer."
"Captain Kerr. I've always wanted to meet the captain who defeated the Graf Spee. But not like this."
"I don't deserve half the credit for winning at River Plate." Emily answered.
"Someone who only deserves half the credit wouldn't have received a ship like…" Here Thea Kreutzer paused, without mentioning the name of the ship in question.
"I suppose so." Emily answered without looking at her. "But did you come here to ask me about River Plate? Scuttling the Graf Spee was the mistake of your predecessor."
Thea smiled. "Mistakes of our predecessors are good learning opportunities for us. But yes, I'm not here now to talk to you. My role is as a mediator in another conversation."
Emily turned towards the girl in the wheelchair. Eye contact was established between the two, and Emily nodded slightly before walking to her.
"Captain Oels. I'm sorry to see what's happened to you."
"This is nothing, captain." The other replied, gesturing to her leg. "At least, it's nothing that won't be healed soon."
After a slight pause, she continued. "You don't owe me an apology. But I do."
"You don't."
"I blew up your ship." Oels replied. Her voice was soft, though she sounded hurt. "When I woke up an hour ago in the hospital, they told me I had the Totalitarian Virus. But still I gave the command to fire at your ships."
"You didn't." Emily replied. "As you said, you weren't in control of yourself when you fought us. It's my fault, since I failed to understand the position the Hood was in."
Captain Oels tried to say something to console Emily, but words wouldn't reach her. Finally she gathered up her courage to let Emily know what she had wanted to tell her since she regained control of herself from the virus.
"I wanted to thank you. The Bismarck was sinking before you decided to stop it. I might be selfish for being happy about it, when you had to suffer the loss of the Hood. But that is the truth."
"If I call you selfish, then I'll be a hypocrite. To tell the truth, at first I really wanted to sink the Bismarck. And I'm angry with myself for thinking something like that."
"Again, thank you. You saved my ship, but I couldn't take control of myself and save yours. And it's not just your ship either. I could've killed all of you if you were still in there. I can't just forget that." Oels said, her voice breaking.
"You remind me of Amelia." Emily said, smiling.
"The Captain of the Rodney? She was an excellent opponent."
"She's only the Captain of the Rodney for a couple days." Emily corrected. "But yes, I'm talking about her. And I didn't mean her performance in battle."
Since Captain Oels needed an explanation, Emily continued.
"She also lost control of herself from the virus. We had to fight each other. And when she was saved, she was constantly blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault. I don't know if even now she's fully recovered from that." She said, before gesturing to Thea. "But I see you've found a good friend to help you. From what I've heard…"
"Yes, Thea was one of the first victims of the virus."
"Which is why I decided to help Captain Oels." Thea said. "I had a lot of help, mostly from my X.O. She worked with the Harakaze to save me from the virus. But that wasn't the only thing she saved me from. Now I'm trying to help Captain Oels, just like Wilhelmina helped me."
"You two get together well." Emily decided. "So forget me. Forget the Hood."
"I can't. At least I can forget the Hood, but I can't forget you."
"Erika," Emily said, much to the surprise of Captain Oels. "You don't have to forget me if you don't want to. But remember that the loss of the Hood was my own fault. You don't owe me anything."
"It's not your fault." Now it was Erika Oels in the offensive. "You can't convince me not to blame myself by blaming yourself."
Instead of answering Erika, Emily turned to Thea. "Can I borrow Captain Oels for a moment?"
Before Thea could understand what Emily asked for, she had taken hold of the wheelchair. A midday stroll was not in the minds of either of the German girls. But Emily needed it. At least it allowed her to move away from the empty dock of the Hood.
"I appreciate you for trying to stick to me. But it's not going to help." Emily said while slowly pushing the wheelchair. "I was the captain of the Hood, and she sank cause of my mistakes."
Erika wondered how to answer this. As for Thea, she followed the two while maintaining a respectable distance.
"I knew that the Hood was at a disadvantage at longer ranges, and I acted accordingly. But that wasn't enough."
"In that case, you really aren't at fault." Erika said gently. "We've heard a lot about the Hood back in Wilhelmshaven, including information on a planned refit which never took place. So if you won't take offense I'll say the Hood herself wasn't ready for battle."
"There was no need for a major refit, since nobody expected that we'd be fighting each other."
"Whoever released this virus deserves to die. They have no issues with playing with the lives of children." Oels said, her voice breaking again.
"We're training for a dangerous profession. Nobody considers us as children."
"But we are. And we were never supposed to try to kill each other."
Now it was Emily's turn to be answerless. But Erika quickly changed the subject back to herself.
"I hope you get over hating yourself for the Hood. A few minutes ago, I was terrified of meeting you. I thought you hated me for sinking your ship. To tell the truth, I was delighted to see that you didn't hate me even as much as I hated myself. But now I wish you didn't forgive me like this, since then I'd be the object of your hatred, and not yourself."
"I've never hated anyone in my life." Emily said, tearing up a little. "But you might be right about me hating myself instead. I've never thought about that before, though I've seen it in others."
"And you help others get over it. You helped me to make up my mind to get over it. But I don't know if I'd be able to return your favor. I won't be able to even return your favor of saving my ship. It doesn't feel right to see you like this after what you've done for me just this day."
Emily didn't answer. Instead she went over and embraced Erika Oels tightly, though making sure not to hurt her. Erika accepted it.
"You should return to your crew, captain." Emily said. "They should be needing you now more than I do. I'll find a way to look after myself."
Erika nodded with a sad smile, and raised her arm in salute to Emily, while Thea once again took hold of her wheelchair.
"Auf wiedersehen Captain Oels." Emily called out while the two girls turned to leave.
"Good bye, and good luck…Emily." Erika replied, even though she had her back turned to her.
(Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School - 11:10)
Somerville had notified the admiralty about the destruction of the Hood in a brief message on the same day of the incident. At that time he had not been in the mood to discuss anything further. But as a senior instructor of the student fleet he could not leave matters to rest as they were.
He was not prepared to face his fellow instructors today. But the meeting had been requested by Instructor Fraser, and he obliged. Now he was in his office, facing his computer screen and waiting for the two other attendants to join.
Instructor Fraser was punctual, and Somerville could recognize his background as his office in Portsmouth. He was a simple man, and his office reflected it during the times Somerville had visited it. Fraser himself seemed to have aged considerably since he last met him, more mentally than physically. That was to be expected considering what happened with Amelia, and what had happened now with his former flagship.
Alison Cunningham, on the other hand, was not a simple woman; in lifestyle and personality. She constantly traveled around the Mediterranean with her student fleet, traveling between Gibraltar, Alexandria and Malta with only short stays in either base. Her office was always a reflection of where she was. And Somerville could guess, by a painting of the ancient lighthouse hanging from her wall, that she was in Alexandria.
Both instructors didn't look happy. Somerville was supposed to begin the meeting, but all three of them remained quiet for a while.
Finally Instructor Fraser broke the silence. "So we lost the Hood."
"I told you this might happen from the first day of the virus." Instructor Cunningham said, in her usual pugnacious tone. "She needed her modernization."
"We don't have the American economy." Fraser said with a sigh.
"My question is why we left the Bismarck afloat after this. We had the chance to let her sink."
"You gain information too fast." Somerville said. "But no, letting the ship sink would've been politically bad. I dare say Captain Kerr understands this better than you."
"The Germans have justification for the sinking of the Hood." Fraser said. "It wasn't voluntary, and we can't take action against it. But if we allowed their flagship to sink, we would be criticized."
"I didn't join this meeting to discuss how and why the Hood sank." Somerville said. "We know exactly why she sank, and it's all our fault. What we should focus on now is how to fill the empty position of the Hood."
"That is true." Fraser said. "Mourning over the loss of one capital ship, even if she was the largest ship we had, is not suitable for the Royal Navy."
"This isn't our only loss. The Royal Sovereign was sunk, and I don't think Sam is keen on getting the Resolution repaired."
Somerville nodded.
"The Prince of Wales is still in drydock, and so is Warspite. And the Repulse is somewhere in the Arctic, from what I've heard."
"We have to settle our lack of ships. The Pacific Fleet is not in a good shape." Somerville agreed. "Currently we have two of our best captains and crews without ships to operate from."
"Captain Fraser performed splendidly with the Rodney." Alison said. "It would make sense if she got to keep her."
"Amelia's ship is the Warspite. She won't be satisfied with anything else." Fraser replied. "So the problem we have to settle is with captain Kerr. Sam, do you believe she is at fault for the loss of the Hood?"
"No, I think we all know we're at fault more than she is. I've read the Hood's log. According to it Captain Kerr had made all the moves necessary to theoretically keep the Hood safe."
"If she isn't at fault, then she's still the best captain in our student fleet. We can't just leave her in Japan."
"I've appointed Captain Cunningham as the temporary commander of the pacific Fleet." Somerville said. "He can manage the fleet for the time being, and Captain Kerr's inactivity won't be an issue. But we have a major issue with regards to ships."
"Specifically battleships." Instructor Cunningham completed what Somerville was saying. "You had to draw from the Home Fleet and Mediterranean Fleet to cover your losses. But we have no more battleships to provide."
"Yes, and the lack of battleships is a serious problem in the short term. Captain Kerr won't be able to do anything before she gets a new ship. And Amelia has to wait a couple months to get the Warspite back."
"Harry has the skills. But, even if I don't like to say it, he can't manage alone." Instructor Cunningham said.
"I can only think of one way we can solve this in the short term." Somerville said. "Commission the Lion."
Instructor Fraser was now in shock. "We can't. She's yet to complete her testing with the White Dolphins. It'll be a breach of protocol if we try to commission her to the student fleet without going through them first."
"It's allowed to break rules in times of crisis. For us this is a crisis of the highest order."
"I don't know."
"I believe you also have issues on whether we should build the rest of the Lion-class at all." Somerville said. "This is the best chance we have to test it out, and take our decision without wasting more money."
"I like Sam's idea." Cunningham chuckled. "This is our chance to show everyone that we aren't behind them with our big gun development."
Before Fraser could speak again, a distant explosion was heard from Cunningham's side. Alarm bells began to ring in her office, and she quickly rose up.
"Gentlemen, I'll have to leave." She said, somewhat shaken. "Hopefully this isn't serious."
Just like that she left the meeting.
It took a while for the remaining two attendants to overcome their shock. Once it was overcome, Fraser spoke.
"I'll have to call Alexandria and know what happened in Alison's end." He said. "But before that…are you really sure about this?"
"No, but we don't have a choice. We've lost one too many."
"Then I'll approve your decision. I believe the Lion will be with you in Yokosuka in a month."
"Thankyou."
"I'm currently in your debt. So don't thank me." Fraser replied, in a serious tone. "How Is Amelia?"
"Even that, I really don't know." Somerville replied. "She was in a really bad state after she was rescued, but she seems to have improved a lot since then. She's always under the impression that she has to prove herself to others and live up to their expectations. She was extremely distressed when she learnt that she lost control of herself and her fleet. Hopefully she's improved now after the Bismarck battle, considering her excellent performance."
Fraser nodded. "I'm sad I can't help her in any way. But I wish you good luck…with everything."
(Port of Yokosuka - 18:00)
It was surprising how peaceful the evening was considering the chaos of the morning, and Kalum had decided that the time was best spent walking around the port. Evening strolls were already part of his daily schedule whenever he was on land, but this evening was different. While walking he ignored the sunset, ignored the ships moored around the harbor and ignored the fact that he was missing evening tea time with his crew.
"Captain Perera."
Only hearing his name being called out from seaward made him concentrate on his surroundings. He had detected that the voice came from the left, but once turning in that direction, he had to raise his head slightly to identify the speaker. She was a girl who was a couple inches taller than Kalum, and had shoulder length blonde hair."
"Captain Perry." It was easy to identify someone who was a celebrity of sorts among light cruiser crews.
The girl was on board the San Diego, and now she proceeded to jog down the gangplank to where he stood. Kalum had saluted her when she was just halfway across to him, and she returned it warmly.
Once this was accomplished, Kalum wondered what to do next. He was at loss with what to say. So he waited, assuming that the American captain wanted to talk to him first, since she had called him. But when she remained silent, he began.
"Captain Perry, it's an honor to…"
Before he could continue the girl stopped him with a wave of her hand.
"Enough with that." She said, chuckling. "I don't really like the big deal treatment."
"Ok…ma'am." Kalum answered, again unsure of what to say.
"You're Captain Perera of the Ceylon, right? It'll be awkward if I make a mistake."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Stop calling me ma'am."
Before Kalum could answer, she continued. "Yes, I know you don't understand what's going on. Like why I want to talk to you."
"I'm more surprised that you remembered my name, captain."
"Oh, yours wasn't hard to remember, though I only heard it briefly in our first meeting near Iwo Jima."
"It was hardly a meeting."
"Yes, anyway, remembering your name wasn't hard. Your surname is Portuguese, right?"
"Yes. The Portuguese controlled the coastal areas of Sri Lanka for more than a century."
"It's still an interesting surname."
"It's the most common surname in the country." Kalum protested.
"I know that." Alene said. "I've been there a couple years ago."
"As a tourist?"
"As a student, I mean when we were still learning on land. We visited Trincomalee, though that port Isn't used by you guys."
"Colombo is more convenient."
"As I've heard. But anyway, I've been wanting to meet you for some time now."
"Me? Why?"
"You have an impressive track record, Captain."
"I haven't done anything special."
"Ah, but you've seen a lot of action." Alene replied. "You might have more experience than I gathered from two years in the fleet. Even these days, our ships refuse to show themselves."
"I would consider that as a fortune."
Alene made a wry face. "Hey, don't be so unenthusiastic."
She actually looked hurt at the prospect of not getting enough action. Truly, what Kalum had heard about Alene Perry was true. She was a captain fit for a destroyer, but assigned to a light cruiser. And it seemed to make sense why the Americans had a class of light cruisers with destroyer caliber guns.
"I mean, I'm not exactly saying it's unfortunate that I don't get to fight. I don't want to fight my friends in life or death scenarios. But it's not a good sign when your ships disappear."
Kalum nodded.
"It's a pity we couldn't join you earlier today. I really wanted to help, though we wouldn't have been much use there."
"We could've stopped the Prinz Eugen from getting away if we had more help."
"Yeah, but we'll find her soon. I'll be off to Manila again in a few days, cause following the Bismarck was a detour. We still have patrolling to do in the south. Hopefully we'll run into the Prinz then."
"We won't be going anywhere for a few weeks." Kalum replied.
"Yes, I saw the hole. Fortunately it's not serious damage. Some patching up will be enough."
Kalum hardly believed that some patching up would be enough. But he didn't say anything.
"I guess you're quite depressed about not getting to go out there again for a month, so you walk around like this."
"I suppose so."
"Then it confirms my theory that my guesses are right. Anyway, how's Captain Kerr? I heard she was onboard the Ceylon since the Hood sank."
"I don't know." Kalum said. "Captain Kerr was extremely distressed right after the Hood went down. But she might have improved after that, or maybe not."
"I guess not is the right answer here. I've known Emily for a long time now." Kalum was surprised to witness a sudden shift in her tone and expression.
"Emily is a perfectionist of sorts." She continued in her serious, somewhat sad, tone. But she stopped here, as if she was expecting Kalum to understand the rest without her help.
And Kalum did understand. Being a perfectionist meant that even a tiny mistake would bother him for days on end.
"I guess I should go see her before leaving." Alene said. Then her tone once again shifted.
"Anyway, it was nice meeting you." She said cheerfully. "I guess we'll be able to fight together sometime in the future. I'll look forward to that."
Being able to fight alongside the USS San Diego would've been a dream for Kalum a couple days ago. Now he wasn't so sure. Captain Perry seemed to be slightly more lively than what he had heard about her from outside sources.
"Anyway it was rude of me earlier." Alene said. "I'm Alene Perry."
"Kalum Perera."
Alene waved, turned around, and left, just like that. As for Kalum, his evening stroll was over. The meeting with Alene seemed to be too much for his brain to handle at the moment. So he too turned around and walked back.
Now there was a chance that he would be on time for evening tea.
(North Pacific - 15:30)
Italy and France both operated strong student fleets in Europe, though neither managed to successfully challenge the Royal Navy in regards to ship count, strength of individual ships, naval technology or the skills of the student crews of the British Home Fleet or Mediterranean Fleet. But the two fleets were still forces to be reckoned with.
Both the Italians and the French had developed new battleships for their fleets in recent years; those being the French Richelieu-class fast battleships and the Italian Littorio-class battleships, with both classes having four ships each.
The Regia Marina and the French Navy were known to cooperate in naval exercises in the Mediterranean, which might be the reason why their infected ships had teamed up today. This combined two powerful battleships, the Richelieu and the Roma into one strike force, one that terrorized the North Pacific from time to time.
The interception force now led by Y-118 Musashi was similarly multinational, and perhaps stronger, though slower. The Richelieu had a top speed of thirty two knots, with the Roma managing thirty. Meanwhile the fastest ship in Moeka's group was the French Dunkerque, capable of a little less than 30 knots. And the Musashi herself was capable of only twenty seven knots. But both these ships were faster than the third battleship in their group, HMS Queen Elizabeth with a top speed of just 24 knots.
The speed issue didn't alarm Moeka, but it was a constant annoyance to the captain of the Dunkerque. However she would only let Moeka know of her complaints, because this time the Queen Elizabeth was crewed by the crew of the Warspite, led by Captain Amelia Fraser, with Captain Amara Patel and crew on leave after days of patrolling.
And Amelia was scary.
Moeka didn't have to worry about Captain Darlan complaining much because of this. But she wasn't happy with how others seemed to see Amelia. In Moeka's mind, Amelia was someone like her, and being feared would not be something she liked.
Were they really alike? Moeka couldn't be sure. They were both skilled students who distinguished themselves on land before going to the sea. They had both been commanding flagships before losing control, and they've both tried their best to get over their guilt after the incident.
And if Moeka's thoughts were correct, both of them were yet to get over it fully.
{Captain, message from the Queen Elizabeth. Small Contact approaching fast from one-one-five.}
"Calling all ships. Wait for visual contact." Moeka ordered.
It didn't take long for the contact to show itself. The radar was correct about its size. And it was also correct about another thing.
{The contact is….really fast. It's flying French ensigns.}
"The French Student Fleet only lost one destroyer to the virus. Le Terrible."
"FS Le Terrible. No wonder the contact seems fast." The Musashi's secretary said. "It's the fastest destroyer in the world. Capable of a top speed of 45 knots."
"All ships, hold your fire." Moeka ordered.
The big guns were not to be used to attack small ships unless they were a serious threat. The reason for this was understandable, but this meant that the French destroyer was free to run away if she needed to, and Moeka could do nothing about it.
"Radio, bridge. What is the status of the destroyers."
{Still two hours away, captain.} The girl answered after a while.
Moeka sighed. Meanwhile Le Terrible turned to port, fired a full salvo of five inch shells, and turned back.
The shells fell short of their target, as Moeka had expected. But there was nothing to celebrate.
"And she's gone."
"If we're fortunate, Le Terrible was just a scout, meaning the rest of them may show themselves to us. Oh they'll" Moeka said.
"Or they'll decide against it, seeing our strength. Without our own scouts, we'll never find them."
Thirty minutes later, everyone was sure that the answer to the question was the latter statement.
All three battleships continued to sail east. According to information provided by her navigators, Moeka knew that they'd passed the international date line minutes ago. They were getting further away from land every hour, and by the next day they'd reach the edge of the zone patrolled by the Hósho.
{Captain, message from the Queen Elizabeth. Invitation to tea by Captain Fraser.}
"To tea?"
{Yes ma'am, the message is a formal invitation for the captains to attend afternoon tea with Captain Fraser onboard the Queen Elizabeth.}
Moeka nodded. "Let Captain Fraser know that I'll be joining."
{Aye, ma'am.}
"Captain, we're expecting our enemy to appear at any time. This is hardly the time for a tea party."
"If Captain Fraser wants it, she should have a reason." Moeka replied to her X.O. "And we're not in any imminent danger. There will be enough time for me to return to the Musashi if we detect any enemies."
"But captain…"
"This might be a strategy meeting. I can't refuse to attend it. You can handle the Musashi till I'm back." Besides, I've really wanted to meet Captain Fraser.
Her X.O. nodded after pause. "Aye ma'am. X.O. has the bridge."
(Yokosuka Marine Girls' High School - 16:05)
The knock on the door didn't improve Somerville's spirits.
"Come in."
The door opened to admit Captain Harry Cunningham, who's pace to the desk was faster than usual.
Somerville could deduce what this sudden meeting was about, but he decided to keep off that topic for as long as possible.
"How were your northern patrols?"
"Uneventful." Harry answered. "I'll let you know the full report soon, sir. But before that I need to know something."
Somerville knew what the question would be.
"What happened in Alexandria?"
"You hear a lot."
"I do have connections with the rest of my fleet."
"And you couldn't learn everything from them?"
Harry shook his head. "Not much."
"Instructor Cunningham is safe, if that's what was worrying you."
"I already knew that. I got in touch with her a little while ago, but she didn't want to talk. I think you know I'm not only worried about her."
"Your sister was injured."
"How bad!?"
"She'll be fine. A couple broken ribs and a dislocation in the right arm, but nothing that won't be cured in a couple weeks."
"Ah…" Harry didn't seem to be convinced. "Sir, how did this happen?"
"A pirate attack." Somerville replied. "Their plan has been to damage our ships in port by placing limpet mines. Fortunately, only a few of them succeeded before their cover was blown."
"And which ships did they get?"
"The only serious damage was caused to the Valiant. But we'll get her back into service in a couple months."
"Where was Alisa at the time, if she was injured by damage to the lower hull?"
"Inspecting the engine rooms. The explosion was at the bow section, so she wasn't in the blast radius. But there's at least one crew member who was close enough to be in critical condition."
Harry didn't reply, so Somerville continued. "I don't think your mother wanted you to know about this right now."
"I know that." Harry said, turning away. "But I would've found out sooner or later, and she knows that perfectly well."
With that he walked out.
(North Pacific Ocean - 16:15)
The interior of the Day Cabin of the Queen Elizabeth was wonderfully furnished and decorated, with the walls adorned with paintings and portraits of various figures, including the ship's namesake Queen Elizabeth I. The black and white photo of Prime Minister Nehru was probably an addition by Captain Patel who was the actual captain of the ship.
Moeka was escorted to the cabin along with Captain Darlan of the Dunkerque and both stood for a moment marveling at the room, even though the French were already accustomed to similar living conditions on their battleships. During this time Captain Fraser, who was seated on a sofa, stood up and came to greet them. She was dressed in the standard black dress uniform of the Royal Navy.
"Welcome onboard the Queen Elizabeth, China-san," Captain Fraser saluted, after greeting Captain Darlan. She spoke in English, which Moeka was quite proficient at.
Moeka returned the greeting much more enthusiastically than Captain Darlan had done before her. The French girl seemed impatient.
"So, why are we here?"
Amelia's eyebrows were raised. "I've already informed you."
"Afternoon tea?"
Amelia nodded with a smile. "Afternoon tea."
She walked to a circular table that occupied part of the cabin, gesturing at the others to join.
"Don't worry. If something goes wrong, I'll claim responsibility."
Moeka joined readily, and Captain Darlan joined after a little hesitation. Once the two of them were seated Amelia signaled to one of her crewmates who stood at the door. Moeka decided that she might be a cook as she returned with a tray on which sat a beautiful china tea pot, similar looking tea cups and saucers. As the girl set it on the table Moeka was surprised to notice a collection of tea bags that were arranged on the tray.
"Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Assam, Green Tea, Ceylon, Lemon, English Breakfast, Massala Chai, Orange Pekoe."
Amelia ran through that list without the slightest pause at identifying a bag before looking up at her invites again.
"Now you can choose."
Moeka picked the green tea which she was most familiar with while Captain Darlan chose the lemon tea.
"Hmm." Amelia seemed to be the only person struggling with the choice. But after a while, she chose the bag of Ceylon.
"There'll be a day when I've familiarized myself with all the types here. For now, I'm just halfway through."
Then she proceeded to pull all three tea cups towards her, drop the tea bags into them and pour hot water from the tea pot.
"Sugar?"
Both Moeka and Darlan refused, so Amelia simply put a spoonful to herself before passing the two cups and saucers to the two others.
"Enjoy."
"Itadakimasu" Moeka took a small slip before setting the cup down again. Amelia followed a similar pace, with the grace and table mannerism of an eighteenth century noble woman.
By then the cook had returned carrying a plate of scones and sandwiches, and Moeka was hungry. Despite being opposed to the afternoon tea idea earlier, the French captain also seemed to be enjoying the meal.
"This is nice, though I still don't know why you wanted to have this while we're in the middle of enemy waters, in a way."
"I have to agree with Captain Darlan." Moeka joined in. "Unless this isn't just a tea party."
"I never intended for it to be anything else." Amelia said, after taking the last sip of her tea. "I would love to invite you to dinner as well. But it's much more dangerous to leave our ships at night."
"No, next time we'll have the honor of receiving you." Captain Darlan chuckled. "British food isn't really my cup of tea."
"I can't say I can comment on French culinary superiority, since I've never been to France. I've only worked with Italians and Indians so far."
"Even in the Med?"
"Yes, I've participated in training exercises with the Regia Marina, and even the Germans. But you should know how the last part went."
Moeka had read the records about this incident, mainly due to her curiosity of Captain Fraser. HMS Fiji, sunk off the coast of Crete, 22nd May 2015. Cause of sinking: accidental use of a live torpedo in naval exercises.
Amelia's conduct during that incident had been impressive, to say the least. But Moeka decided that this wasn't the time to bring this up
"You enjoyed your time in the Mediterranean?" She asked instead.
"It was my first assignment. So, yes, I did enjoy it. But the Eastern Fleet is better, from what I feel now. More freedom, more space."
"That isn't really helping us now." Darlan said. "If the Pacific was small like the Med, this problem would've been solved in a week."
"Depends on the ships we lose." Amelia said, smiling playfully. "Now if it's the French, then it'll be over in a couple days. But if the Mediterranean Fleet gets the virus, then you'll have to find some other sea to operate in."
Darlan glared daggers at Amelia, before remembering that it was the British girl who had the intimidation factor. The glare melted quickly, without Amelia even realizing that it existed earlier.
As for Moeka, she was surprised at the Captain Fraser she saw now. From what she'd heard before, Amelia had been in a state of depression following the rescue of the Warspite. But now she was different, at least on the outside. Yes, she still had the same seriousness that Moeka had heard her to have, but she also had a sense of humor.
All three of them had finished their tea and meal by now, though none of the two visitors felt like leaving. Even Darlan, who had been determined to leave as soon as possible, remained. Amelia stood up, beckoning the others to do so, and walked to the back of the cabin.
"I still have one thing left for you," she said opening a door that led one of the famous features of the Queen Elizabeth-class super dreadnoughts.
"The stern walk. I've always wanted to see what it's like from here."
"Then after you, China-san," Amelia said, allowing her to step forward.
Stepping onto the stern walk; the balcony that ran along the stern of the ship, Moeka was greeted by the setting sun lighting up the western sky behind them.
Moeka stepped aside to let the others enter and walked to the right till she reached the center of the balcony. The sea was calm, and it would've been pleasant to spend time there watching the horizon if not for the vibrations caused by the screws right below it. But Moeka decided to ignore that for the moment.
"I don't really come here much. It's only a pleasant thinking spot if the sea is calm."
"It is quite close to the water." Darlan agreed. "What's the purpose of it anyway?"
"Just a symbol of Royal Navy tradition. I don't know anyone who stays here much" Amelia replied.
"Is it a tradition like your afternoon tea?"
"Tea time isn't there just for tradition's sake. But I guess you can say it's also a sign of our former nobility, like the stern walk, and dinners. I like the second of these more but…"
"But?"
"Nothing…Just, Captain Kerr liked to give dinners to us on board the Hood. She liked to try foreign cuisines a lot."
"How is she now?" Moeka asked, her voice softer than usual.
Amelia shook her head. "I don't know."
The last time she met Emily, she had smiled at her and talked with her like usual. Or at least she pretended to be her usual self. "I don't like how things are going with her."
"You're friends with her. I'm sure you'll be able to help her." Moeka said in the same tone as before, though she didn't turn to face her.
"I can't even help myself."
"That's a lie, from what I heard about you, you tried to go on a hunger strike after Tsushima. But you've changed a lot since then."
"That might be true if you say so. But how do you know this about me?"
"I must confess to having searched a lot about you during the past few days." Moeka said. "We get compared a lot."
"I don't think there's much of a comparison, China-san." Amelia replied. "You're better than me in terms of skill. You got the Musashi as your first assignment while I had to start with the Fiji."
Moeka smiled. "Maybe, but I'll still look up to you."
"That's…good to hear." Amelia replied, going back into the Day Cabin of the ship. The others entered behind her, just in time for the radar operator to make an announcement.
{Captain, contacts heading from zero-nine-zero.}
"And that's our cue to break up." Amelia said, after taking a deep breath. "It's just as I've expected."
"This isn't good. We won't be able to finish any fight we start now before it gets dark."
"Fighting or not is your choice, Captain China," Amelia replied.
"We'll engage them." Moeka said, happy to see the expression of agreement on the faces of both fellow captains. "Captain Fraser, Thank you for your hospitality. And good luck with everything."
"Oui, I enjoyed my time here." The French Captain agreed. "Let's keep in touch."
{Captain, four contacts heading from zero-nine-zero. Large enough to be battleships.}
"There wasn't supposed to be four." Moeka muttered, staring at the floor before realizing that the other two were staring at her.
"Do we turn back, China-san?" Amelia asked, her tone calm and determined but grave. "We can't face four battleships, even with the Musashi."
"We'll go forward." Moeka decided.
"I agree with Captain Fraser on the retreating option." Darlan said. "We don't know who else we're facing here."
"That's exactly why we're going forward." Moeka replied, trying to stay calm. "We'll need confirmation on who else is out there."
"Then let's continue." Amelia said with a smile. "I suppose we won't fight if we can help it."
Moeka nodded.
"Then there's no time to waste. We'll have to reach within visible range before it gets dark."
"Then, au revoir, Captain Fraser." Darlan said, leaving the cabin. Moeka only waited for a moment longer before deciding to take her leave.
"Sayonara, China-san." Amelia said, bidding her farewell as both of them reached the door of the cabin.
Moeka smiled and nodded. "Sayonara Fraser-san."
I know that their might be a partially canon captain of the Bismarck in the Maidens of Loreley manga series, as the ship is briefly mentioned in the first chapter. But there's no way to know since I've sadly never had a chance to check the manga which is not available online past the first two chapters. And I have no way of buying the paperback from Japan and can't read Japanese even if I buy it. So I hope you don't find an issue with my OC captain of the Bismarck.
FFN is yet to solve their view update issues but I'll continue with my normal schedule. As usual, any reviews from you will be appreciated. Also, have fun guessing the identities of the other two ships Moeka will be facing, and feel free to let me know your guesses.
Also this is the first chapter in this fic with no action cause I wanted to give my characters a break. would love to know your thoughts on that too.