AN: Wishing all my readers a very happy new year!
(North Pacific - 17:30)
No plan survives first contact with the enemy.
Going into battle, Moeka's plan was simple. Sail at full speed at the enemy, fire only in self defense, and let the Musashi absorb most of the enemy shells. The Musashi sailed at the head of the battle line with these expectations.
"Musashi, ready to fire."
{Queen Elizabeth, ready.}
{Dunkerque, ready}
Hearing this, Moeka had ordered her companions to hold fire while she presented her ship as the preferable target.
"Fire!
But what followed this mighty barrage was not what she had expected. Only the Roma and the Richelieu were within effective firing range still, perhaps a testimony to their speed over whoever followed them. But contrary to Moeka's expectations, all their shells were aimed at one battleship.
No. Moeka thought, starting out of the Musashi's bridge, as sixteen enemy shells flew straight at the Queen Elizabeth.
Before anyone could confirm whether the shells had hit, Moeka was calling the unfortunate target.
"Captain Fraser, are you okay?"
{No problem at all.} She was trying to sound cheerful, but that was just a facade Moeka could clearly see through.
{They'vs naturally rallied against their Mediterranean opponent. We'll be fine, so concentrate on firing those eighteen-inch guns.}
"Any damage to report?"
{None.}
Moeka left the radio and took a deep breath. But Amelia was correct. The only way to convince the enemy to switch targets was to threaten them with the Musashi's formidable firepower.
{Commander, permission to open fire?}
"Permission granted."
By now the Roma and the Richelieu had entered visible range, appearing on the horizon with their port side turned to Moeka's team.
"Fire at will!"
The eighteen-inch guns lit up the evening sky, followed by the British fifteen-inch guns and the French thirteen inches. Shells from both the Musashi and Queen Elizabeth straddled the enemy ships, while the shells from the Dunkerque fell too short.
Moeka had hoped that the close misses would change the situation, but the two battleships fired another volley of fifteen-inch shells at the same target as before.
This time, their aim was precise.
Most of the shells straddled the super-dreadnought while a couple scored hits on the armored belt. But one shell scored a direct hit on the base of the fore-superstructure, causing a 4.5" secondary turret to explode.
It was probably chaotic in the Queen Elizabeth now, and Moeka was afraid to call them again. It was my decision to go forward. It'll be my fault if something goes wrong.
{Captain China, we're fine.}
Amelia seemed to know Moeka's thoughts as she called the Musashi before Moeka could master her courage to call her. But her words didn't bring any relief.
"Anyone injured?"
There was a pause before the reply came. {Yes.}
{But it's nothing serious.} Amelia said, after another pause. {The ship isn't in a bad condition either, even if Captain Patel won't like what happened.}
The Musashi fired again, commanded by a Moeka who had decided that close misses were not enough to shift targets. But in the darkness of the evening, those shells also missed. However, Moeka's squadron was silhouetted against the setting sun, making them easier targets for the enemy.
Another volley made contact with the Queen Elizabeth, though none of the hits were significant.
{This has gone on for too long. Time to show them who really rules the Mediterranean.}
While Amelia's words were powerful, Moeka was quick to notice something else. Did she sound like she's in pain.
"Captain Fraser, you're injured."
No reply came from the other side, and the silence was only broken by Captain Darlan.
{Captain China, I request permission to break away from the battle line and close in on the enemy. Since we're faster, we'll be able to see what ships they have quickly and we can all fall back.}
"Permission granted." Moeka said. "And Captain Fraser, you didn't answer me yet."
The answer from Amelia came in the form of another volley fired at the enemy. This time, the shots weren't close misses.
{Richelieu belt hit, captain.}
While this was good news as far as their performance was concerned, it was not going to convince the enemy to give up attacking the British ship. It actually had the potential to worsen the situation.
Meanwhile the Dunkerque sailed straight at the enemy at full speed, till several geysers of water erupted on either side of her.
{Captain, battleship at one-zero-five, horizon. Captain, the ship looks Japanese!}
"A battleship from Kure or Maizuru?"
{It's not the Shinano.}
Moeka may have sighed in relief at that news, but with the Shinano removed from the possibilities, there was only one ship left.
"The Nagato, from Kure."
Moeka shivered slightly as the sixteen-inch gunned ship began to close in on them gradually. The Nagato was older and weaker than the Musashi, but her crew was made of excellent students.
"Captain Darlan, you'd better retreat now. Those were too close for comfort."
Apparently the French captain had realized this already, and was making a turn to port when the next shells hit.
As the ship was covered in water, Moeka brazed herself for the incoming report. {One shell went straight through the stern. I think it damaged the rudder control, so we'll be down to manual control in a while.}
"Any other damage?"
{One shell penned our belt, and we're having some issues with machinery. Our armor wasn't really built for this.}
She didn't mention casualties, though Moeka was afraid of the worst. {But nothing to worry about as long as we turn this thing around.}
That won't be easy. Moeka addressed her gunnery officer. "Calculate a firing solution for the Nagato."
"We're abandoning the Queen Elizabeth?
"We don't have a choice. We're technically down to two ships now because the Dunkerkqe will have to lie low."
Meanwhile Amelia seemed to have decided that she was perfectly capable of managing on her own without help, since the Queen Elizabeth fired another salvo at the French and Italian battleships, again scoring hits. Unfortunately these hits still did nothing to deter the enemy.
"The Roma has a good armor scheme. We're really having a bad day."
Moeka didn't reply to her secretary's comment.
{Captain China, we can hold on now. It's getting dark, and the Royal navy is prepared for night fighting.}
While Amelia brought good news, it was lost on Moeka who concentrated on her voice. She was definitely injured. And her attempts at hiding it did not help Moeka in the slightest.
"Captain, guns locked on target."
"Fire!"
The sun has set nearly completely by now. But the darkness was cleared for a moment by the muzzle flashes of the eighteen inch guns of the Musashi. Their enemy was still only in the horizon. But by now the gunners had had enough practice for the day.
The shells straddled the Nagato while one lucky shell connected with the stern, probably going straight through. The Nagato fired another volley, but she was slowing down a couple knots at a time.
Spirits were high on the Musashi for a brief period of time before the sixteen-inch shells hit. Moeka held on as the bridge shook from the impact of shells on the armored belt.
{Captain, the Dunkerque has finished turning.}
This was the news Moekahad been waiting for. "All ships, fall back. Musashi, hard to port."
"Hard to port, aye."
The Queen Elizabeth fired one more salvo before making the turn to port. Meanwhile the Dunkerque was already retreating, though Captain Darlan made the absolutely brave, or absolutely reckless and stupid, decision to open fire on the enemy while on the move. The shells straddled the Richelieu, but they were ignored. The enemy ships weren't so keen on keeping up the attack now, seeing how the Nagato had been damaged.
"I've failed on my mission today." Moeka said as the Musashi began sailing westward. "We only found out about one ship."
But she couldn't have been more wrong as a lookout shouted. {Ship on the horizon. It's…Oh no.}
"What's the matter?"
{She's an Iowa, or a South Dakota. But most probably an Iowa.}
"That's not possible. The Iowa was in the South Pacific just today."
{it's an Iowa. It's too big to be the North Carolina, and I can see the funnel shape properly now.}
Moeka's blood had turned to ice hearing this, since this news was bad on multiple levels. The first level was confirmed as the ship in question opened fire.
"Hard to starboard!"
Before the Musashi had completed her turn, the shells landed in the water on either side of the ship, with one shell grazing her port side armored belt.
"Hard to port!"
"Captain, I ran a search on the US Navy in the Pacific this year. The Iowa and the Wisconsin weren't the only ships of that class assigned to the Pacific."
"Then the other ship is…"
"The USS Missouri. And…Oh No!" Her eyes had widened as she realized what this meant, and Moeka could only share her horror as she gave her next orders.
"Radio, bridge, contact Yokosuka right now."
(Yokosuka Girl's Marine High School - 06:30)
The sound of the piano interrupted the badminton match.
Kalum had been surprised the night before when Captain Perry invited him for a friendly game of badminton at the school badminton courts. But he wasn't one to deny the request of the most famous light cruiser captain in the student fleets. The fact that she'd probably gone through his files and discovered his history of playing badminton for Colombo while still in academy did bother him, but that hadn't been enough to stop him.
He had arrived at the venue at six in the morning, refusing to let early morning fatigue bother him. At the badminton courts he'd been introduced to their fellow players for the game, from what Alene Perry termed as the "cruiser club."
The first was a girl Alene introduced as Mina, who proceeded to introduce herself as Wilhelmina. The blonde girl was apparently the X.O. of the Admiral Graf Spee, which Alene somehow considered as a heavy cruiser. The fourth member of their group was the French captain of the FS Algéri.
The game had started with Kalum being the first to serve. He was facing Alene and Mina, and figuring that Alene was already a good player if she organized the game, Kalum had decided to serve the shuttle to Wilhelmina. This was a mistake, as the German reacted faster than he expected, sending the shuttle flying back to them. Being close to the net, Kalum had no chance of blocking it, and they would've had a bad start if his French companion hadn't intervened. But he did, and the game went on before the girls scored the first point in the twenty one point game.
The fifteen minutes that followed were a blur in Kalum's memory. All four players knew their game, and the score of nineteen-twenty was a clear indication of that. Now the girls only needed one point to win, and the boys were not going to give up easily.
At Least that was the situation till Kalum found the shuttle flying towards him. It's vertical position and angle were perfect for Kalum to use the most famous shot in badminton; the smash. But he hesitated.
I'll never get this right.
Performing this shot was always his Achilles-heel, though he excelled at blocking the shot from others. But now he would have to choose whether to attempt the shot or switch to another.
Unfortunately, he hesitated for a millisecond too long. He swung his racket, missing the shuttle which landed with a thud near him.
"Twenty one - nineteen."
Kalum would've liked to have a break before starting the next round. But Alene was not prepared to grant that.
"Ok, let's start round two. I'm teaming up with Kalum."
Oh no. Somehow, Kalum believed that this wasn't going to be fun. He joined Alene and stationed himself in the right court.
"Kalum, I'll let you serve again." Alene said, tossing the shuttle which he caught somewhat awkwardly. Alene had insisted on using his name when addressing him, at least while they weren't on duty. But Kalum was having a hard time calling her in the same way.
"Target Mina," Alene said, as Kalum prepared to serve. "Don't worry, I'll defend the rear."
Kalum served, and Wilhelmina replied with a net lift, which was in turn blocked by Alene in the back court who played a drop. Mina had no choice but to reply with another net lift that gave Kalum another chance to smash. But just like before, he hesitated, though this time the hesitation wasn't enough to lose them a point. He managed a drive, which the French captain blocked with a lift. The shuttle flew towards Alene and she could find enough time to say,
"You aren't aggressive enough,"
Before jumping up and performing the smash perfectly and lethally..
"One-zero."
She walked back to serving position. "You can't avoid a shot all the time. Just give it a try."
Kalum nodded, and the next time he got the chance, he followed Alene's word. But just as he had expected, he hit the shuttle at the wrong angle, and the shuttle flew nearly parallel to the floor, coming to a stop outside the court.
"Eight-eleven."
Kalum shrugged at Alene, as if he was letting her know exactly why he didn't play that particular shot.
"Doesn't matter. Raw aggression doesn't work in badminton. You need to be calculative." Alene seemed to be regretting her former decision.
"If you want to say something deep, say it after you've won something." Wilhelmina joked.
"Oh I'll win…"
Alene did just as she said, gaining the next point for their team by smashing the shuttle that had been served just then by Wilhelmina. Kalum tried to replicate either of her successes but only succeeded in losing them another point when he swung his racket a second too soon.
Alene had been right. Badminton was not about aggression. The game was based on the motion of projectiles.
Apart from the more practical naval subjects, physics and mathematics had been compulsory subjects while in the academy. Their importance was understandable, and Kalum had excelled at the former, while struggling at the latter.
Projectile motion was an important lesson in physics, since it dictated the conditions for successful naval gunfire. Kalum was well aware of the basics of it that applied here for his badminton. They were in an indoor court, so air resistance could be neglected. And to launch the shuttle to the maximum range, he had to hit it fast enough to provide maximum velocity, while maintaining an angle of projection of forty-five degrees.
But badminton wasn't about range either. The game was played within the confinement of a court. Any shot landing out of the area was a point lost. So, control was everything.
Badminton was the game closest to naval battles Kalum could think of as he struck the shuttle flying to him roughly at an angle of thirty degrees. Instead of striking it with all his might, he replied with a simple drop. The front court of the opposite side lacked sufficient defense as both players prepared to face a shuttle that would fly to the back court.
The score was now tied at twelve points each.
It was at this time that they heard the sound of the piano. It had been going on for a while, but it hadn't caught their attention till now.
The player evidently had the skill to play the instrument, as the music reaching them was beautiful. But the player didn't seem to complete any of the pieces they played, instead switching to an entirely different piece half way through. But that wasn't all.
Kalum could recognize the pieces being played. The piece that first ended half way through was the famous Fur Elise, which was followed by the slower Moonlight Sonata First Movement which had now been replaced with Kalum's favorite piece from the classical period; Mozart's Turkish March, which was much faster than the previous pieces. The player didn't seem to settle on anything.
"I think we can take a break now." Alene said, listening to the piano. "I have to check something out."
Wilhelmina had guessed where she was about to go, as she said, "It's not a good idea to disturb someone."
Alene smiled. "I won't be disturbing anyone."
Wilhelmina was about to protest before Alene continued. "I've personally known one person who's this good with the piano. Need to see if this is her."
As she stepped out of the badminton courts, Wilhelmina decided to join her. The French captain excused himself outside at the moment and Kalum, not wanting to be left alone, decided to follow the two girls to the music room.
As they stood in a hallway next to the door of the music room, Kalum was aware that the music piece being played had changed again.
"Baba Yaga, by Tchaikovsky."
"You know your pieces." Alene remarked. "And can you tell me what this is, now?"
That was easy. "A piano cover for My Heart will Go On. That's a complete shift in era."
"Exactly." Alene said as she pushed open the door quietly.
It seemed like Alene's guess about the identity of the player had been correct. A brunette girl sat at the piano, reading from a collection of pieces that was probably specially printed for her, since no standard book would include such a variety of pieces from a mixture of era and genre. Alene hadn't meant to disturb her, but the girl was quick to notice, as stopped playing.
"Alene, how nice of you to drop by." Emily Kerr said, turning around.
(Yokosuka Blue Mermaid Headquarters - 06:30)
"No, not the Missouri. Anything but the Missouri. Captain China probably misidentified the North Carolina."
The Americans Blue Mermaid that had brought Instructor Callaghan the news slowly shook her head.
"And that's supposed to improve our situation? Ma'am, both ships were at Pearl."
"I know." The instructor groaned while burrowing her face in her hands. "I don't want to think of the worst case scenario. But…"
This was not how she would've liked to start her morning. It was already bad that the Blue Mermaids had waited till early morning to notify her of this. But that was the least of her concerns.
"We can hope the ship got infected while away from Pearl…somehow." The Blue Mermaid said. She was a girl of about twenty or less, and this was probably her first year with the Blue Mermaids. And Instructor Callaghan could see that she was just as terrified as she was at this time.
"No." Callaghan said, raising her head again. "Even if I hate to say it, we can't keep on hoping for anything anymore. The ship has to be the Missouri. Any other ship won't be able to convince Captain China to turn around."
"Captain China turned around cause of reasons mostly unrelated to our ship. It seems like she was already falling back when the Missouri appeared."
"Might be, but it doesn't matter. From now on we'll have to make all our moves considering that the Missouri is infected."
"Only the Missouri?"
Callaghan sighed. "You know what I mean."
The Blue Mermaid may have shivered a bit. "Then what do you think we should do?"
"First contact Instructor Munetani and tell her to bring Captain China's fleet back to Japan. They've done their job."
"Yes ma'am, and next?"
"I guess Admiral Kuznetsov still wants his northern expedition. So we'll have to let him borrow a couple of our ships. But everything else we have will be focused to the south."
"So we're preparing for the worst case scenario."
Callaghan nodded. "And we can't keep on guessing the status of Pearl anymore. We need to send out drones."
"Send the Langley?"
"No, we've decided it's too dangerous to do that. I'm going to take matters into my own hands."
The Blue Mermaid nodded. "I'll get in touch with Manila. A squadron of ten-twenty ships ought to be enough."
"Add one more to that. I'll personally command this operation." Callaghan said, standing up.
"It's time to get back to the Ticonderoga."
(Yokosuka Marine Girls High School - 06:35)
Alene strode into the music room. "I would've dropped by sooner if you didn't hide from me every time I did."
Emily sighed, turning back to her keys. Without paying any attention to Alene who stood there stunned, she turned another page of her book and resumed playing.
"Spring, Four Seasons by Vivaldi." Kalum muttered as the sweet melody reached his ears. The music was beautiful, but it didn't have any effect on Alene who now glared at Emily.
But as Emily continued to play, Alene chose to let out an audible sigh. "See, this is exactly what I meant. I don't like this, and you know I don't like this."
Emily just turned another page.
This time, Wilhelmina was faster. "Vivaldi's Summer."
"Why the hell would anyone call this summer?" Alene asked, returning to them, as the chaotic melody filled the room.
"It's supposed to represent summer storms." Kalum explained. Meanwhile Emily continued to spread chaos, enhanced by the occasional mistake.
Alene seemed to have given up on Emily at this point, and was on the verge of leaving, when the music stopped. Emily once again turned around to face them. Now Alene looked hopeful. But unfortunately, Emily wasn't prepared for her…yet. Instead she addressed the German girl who stood next to Kalum.
"Wilhelmina Braunschweig Ingenohl Friedeburg. I've heard about you from Captain Kreutzer."
"Thea told me she met you."
"We've met twice by now. And I've talked with her enough to recognize you from that ribbon."
Wilhelmina tucked lightly at the red and black ribbon tied to the base of a braid to the left of her face as she smiled fondly. "Yes, the history of that ribbon dates back to our first year at Wilhelmshaven."
"I've heard about that." Emily said, earning a look of surprise from Wilhelmina. "Why? you've both had a rough past. Putting up with your upstart former Prussian nobility…"
Wilhelmina laughed. "As if the Royal Navy doesn't have their own upstart nobility."
"Our is less nobility, and much less upstart." Emily replied. "But that's not the point. You've been a good friend to her."
"That is my goal." WIlhelmina said with a smile. "But how much of our history did Thea talk about?"
"Not enough. I would've loved to know more about the girl who blew up a reef in simulations to get to the target point faster. But no luck with that. And no, Thea didn't tell me about the reef," Emily said, seeing Wilhelmina's shocked look. "That was news all around Europe for a while."
"Well, if Thea didn't mean to tell you anything, you won't be getting anything out of me." Wilhelmina replied, playfully. "But what about you, captain? According to Thea, you're not who you pretend to be, ever since the Hood sank."
Emily sighed. "I'm tired of everyone telling me this." She began to turn back to the piano.
"Emily, please." Alenes once again had the soft tone Kalum had heard from her during their brief meeting at the docks. "Before she left on patrols, Amelia made me promise to check on you. Are you going to turn your back on her too?"
Emily's answer may have come in the form of the next piece she chose to play, which was just as chaotic as Summer.
"Moonlight Sonata, third movement."
"Yes, Emily said, briefly stopping the piece. "Captain Perera, I was surprised to find you with this group. But I'm glad you're here. You understand the music. So you should understand me."
"I don't want to believe what I understand is true." Kalum answered. "It's nothing good."
Emily shrugged. "Then you're probably understanding it correct. Now please leave me."
Alene hesitated, but didn't argue when Wilhelmina pulled her outside and closed the door.
"So that's it? Lovely to see you. Now go away?"
Beethoven's chaotic piece seemed to continue at twice the tempo and loudness behind the door.
"She's upset."
"Thank you Captain Obvious." Alene said, kicking the wall.
"Sorry."
"No, you're right." Alene replied. "So we wait till she's ready to meet us."
"Wait here?" Wilhelmina asked.
Alene nodded. "Right here." She set herself on a bench that was placed outside the music room, crossing her legs and arms. After thinking for a moment, Wilhelmina settled herself beside Alene while Kalum decided to remain standing.
Thirty minutes passed before the music finally stopped, ending with Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody Number 2.
"Now what?"
"Now we wait for her to come out. I don't think barging in again is a good idea." Alene said.
But another thirty minutes passed without anyone exiting the music room. For those outside, the silence from within was deafening.
Alene had been tapping her feet on the floor impatiently for the past fifteen minutes. Now she stood up. "I'm going in."
Wilhelmina set her down again with a hand on her shoulder. "You wait. I think it's best if I check instead."
Alene looked as if she was about to protest, but decided against it in a split second, deciding to give Wilhelmina a chance. The German captain went to the door and stood there for a few seconds. And then she knocked.
No one answered.
Wilhelmina waited another five minutes before knocking again, and receiving no answer, she slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open just enough for her to peer inside.
She might have remained in that position for another five minutes before Alene pulled her away and peeped in herself.
"She's…gone."
Alene pushed the door open and rushed into the room, with Kalum and Wilhelmina following behind.
Even though he hadn't realized it earlier, now Kalum could now see that the walls of the music room were covered in curtains. Now Alene was pulling back each of these curtains frantically and searching behind them. It didn't take her long to find one that hid a door behind it. She twisted the knob to find out that the door had been locked from the outside.
"I. Am. An. Idiot!" It was fortunate that Alene still had a perfect sense of balance and physical self control, or it would've been a bad day for the drum set, Tuba or the chairs that stood around her at the moment. She counted to ten, then took several deep breaths.
Meanwhile Wilhelmina was at the piano while she caught sight of a piece of paper stuck in between two keys. She pulled it out.
"Alene, this is for you."
The paper had been torn off a notebook, and the handwriting on it was not the best Emily could've managed.
Alene went through the content in a flash, then chose to read it out loud.
"Meet me for lunch, at…"
The address of a floating shopping mall was written on it, along with the time.
Alene carefully placed it in her pocket. "I guess you two can join?"
"Of course, as long as the food isn't Japanese." Wilhelmina said while Kalum just nodded.
"Then we'll finish our game first. Louis should be annoyed with us by now." If ancient cultures had a god of mood change, Alene would've been a demigod daughter…assuming she wasn't the goddess herself.
(Malta - 07:00)
The Georgios Averof was old, not just considering her age, but also considering the old gun layout of hers which was reminiscent of first generation dreadnoughts. Both her sisters in the Regia Marina had been scrapped more than a decade earlier, but she remained as the strongest ship in the Greek student fleet, and the last armored cruiser in the world.
With a main armament of four 9.2" inch and eight 7.5" guns, the Averof wasn't exactly a weak ship, despite her top speed of just 23.5 knots. And she was an active participant in RNSF training exercise in the Mediterranean.
This time her stay in Malta had started as one of those exercises. The RNSF had moved most of their ships out of Alexandria after the pirate attack, with Instructor Cunningham even considering a total withdrawal to Gibraltar. But she had decided to wait before making a decision, mostly since a total withdrawal would be an acceptance of defeat. Accordingly, part of the Mediterranean fleet was sent to Malta instead, with the Averof joining them there.
But this was just the situation two days ago. Now the Averof was not in Malta just for a training exercise. Their real job was to start the next day. But still, they were safe at port.
Today, Captain Nikolaus Dousmanis had been in his at-sea cabin waiting for his secretary to arrive with a report. This girl arrived in due time, but instead of a report, her tablet was switched on to a video call app, and the familiar face on the screen told Nikolaus that his secretary had nothing to explain as she handed him the tablet.
"Captain, I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"Not at all, Captain Cunningham." Nikolaus answered.
"Good," Harry Cunningham nodded. "So, where's Alisa."
"Ah…" come to think of it, Nikolaus had known that he would get a call like this in a day or two. Getting it now was unexpected.
"Yes, she's onboard." He replied. "And I only did it with Instructor Cunningham's permission, not because she insisted."
"I knew that. Still can't believe my mother would allow something like that. I thought she was only out of hospital for a couple days now. So where is she? And how is she?"
"She's resting, and I'm making sure she stays in bed. And you can count on me for that. As for her condition…the surgery was a success so medically speaking, she's fine. But I won't call her fine."
"What happened?"
"The chief engineer of the Valiant passed away from her injuries from the attack."
"What!?"
"She was too close to the explosion when it happened. It's very unfortunate but…"
"I need to see Alisa…now!"
"Captain?"
Harry looked downcast as he said, "Sophia was a family friend of ours from childhood. And I think she was one of Alisa's best friends."
"Then you're worried about why Alisa wants to get back to the sea again."
Harry nodded. "But I can't come to a decision right now. So I need to see her, and talk to her."
"Then wait a minute," Nikolaus said, switching off the camera. "She's in the Admiral's cabin." It took longer than a minute but Nikolaus was fast enough to not keep Harry waiting for long.
He knocked on the door of the cabin and was surprised to receive the reply from the British Captain herself.
"Where's Phoebe?" He asked, closing the door behind him. He had instructed the ship's doctor to stay by the girl as much as possible.
"I sent her away." Alisa answered while lying on the bed. She was a girl of sixteen considered by many to look jyst like her brother. And now looking at her, and looking at Harry's face on the screen, Nikolaus could see the resemblance. Apart from physical similarities, both knew how to look serious, though Alisa was much livelier than her brother. However, all that liveliness had left the girl who was now next to Nikolaus.
"Why?"
"There's no need for a babysitter."
"No one's babysitting nobody."
"That's not what it felt like."
Nikolaus was used to Alisa's obstinate replies after knowing her for years, so he decided against further argument. "Anyway, you have a visitor."
Seeing nobody else in the room, and seeing the tablet Nikolaus held, Alisa quickly reached a conclusion on the identity of the visitor.
She tried to maintain her former regal self, but Nikolaus could feel the shiver in her voice as she said, "Tell Harry I'm not in the mood."
Nikolaus managed a slight smile. "I don't think he'll take no for an answer." He set down the tablet on a bedside table near her. Alisa turned away as he switched on the camera again, revealing the scene to a Harry who looked rather distraught, having heard the entire conversation through the mic that remained switched on all the time.
"Alisa, I'm not going to tell you to return to Alexandria or anything. If you have a plan, go ahead with it." Harry said, after a moment of silence.
This was enough to get Alisa's attention. She turned around quickly, or tried to turn around quickly before stopping with a groan. Nikolaus rushed to her, but she stopped him with a gesture before turning herself slowly towards the tablet, wincing a bit as she did so.
"I'm starting to regret what I said earlier." Harry said, looking a bit pale.
"I'm fine. Otherwise I'd still be in hospital."
"You're not fine." Harry decided.
"So, since you're not here to try to send me back, what do you want to tell me."
Eyebrows were raised at that question. "Can't a brother check on his sister if she's suffering from two broken ribs?"
No answer.
"Ok, what I wanted to say is, I know how you feel. So don't take any rash decisions…"
"They killed Sophia!" Alisa shouted. "Don't come at me with your advice."
Harry sighed, and Nikolaus was surprised to see how Captain Harry Cunningham, the standard for confidence in the RNSF, wavered in front of his sister. But he wouldn't be any better facing an angry Alisa.
"This is exactly why I want to talk to you." Harry continued. "Sophia's death is painful to me too. But you must realize your condition."
"Now this just sounds like you trying to get me to turn back." Alisa said. "In that case, we'll end this discussion right now."
"Not at all. Just…don't do anything stupid."
"Stupid?"
"I know where you're going, and why you're going there." Harry said, before explaining further. "Suez canal patrols might bring you face to face with some pirates."
"We're only hoping we find something about them during patrols." Nikolaus said. "Pirate activity in the Mediterranean is quite a mystery to everyone, still. I mean, why didn't they release the virus here? Or why did they only attack Alexandria…"
"Or why the fuck they're okay with killing children to get what they want!" Alisa had risen up from the bed in her outburst, but she fell back to it with a groan.
Nikolaus's hand gently placed on her shoulder managed to calm Alisa for the moment.
"If we met them again, I would've repaid them for Sophia with an octuple pom pom…if only the Averof had any."
"I'm worried that you'll actually try something like that. Which is why I told you not to do anything stupid."
"Relax. I know what I can and cannot do." Alisa said, turning away a bit from the tablet. "It's not like I can do anything anyway."
"If she rests for about a week, we'll be able to move her around." Nikolaus said, addressing Harry rather than Alisa. This seemed to annoy the girl.
"I've been with overprotective doctors before."
"The more the reason why you should listen to them." Harry said.
"I'll listen to them if they're reasonable." Alisa said. Then she switched to addressing Nikolaus. "I like Phoebe. She's a reasonable doctor."
"You're the first person to find her reasonable."
"She understands it when I say I'm fine, unlike a certain overprotective brother."
"Nikolaus, I think we're done here." Harry said. "Now I want to talk with you for a moment."
Alisa looked quite annoyed with this. But she didn't protest, and returned the gesture when her brother bid her farewell. Nikolaus took the tablet and left the room, and spoke to Harry as soon as he had closed the door.
"Are you satisfied with your observations on her conditions?"
"Not exactly. I know she isn't stupid. But I can't be sure about what she might do in certain situations."
"I think you're being too hard on her…or worrying too much. I can't decide on either of the two. Whatever it is, it's too much."
"You might be right. But I don't take risks."
"There's no risk here. I mean, apart from the chance of having to face pirates. But if anything goes wrong, I'll make sure Alisa is fine."
"I've decided I can count on you, since I know the two of you are more than friends…"
Nikolaus blushed.
"...So I'll let you take care of things. She's sad, and really angry, so you'll have to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. I'll try to keep in touch, but the rest is up to you."
"You can count on me."
AN: So, there's a lot going on in this chapter. Firstly, I don't know if anyone guessed what ships Moeka was about to face in battle, but if anyone guessed the Missouri, good for you. Now this is really bad news for everyone involved. Two Iowas and a Yamato infected.
The Haifuri wiki says Wilhelmina likes Tennis. I hope her skill at badminton isn't too much of a stretch. And you can look forward to seeing her more in the next chapters.
I love the Georgios Averof, nothing to say there. But was including another front a good idea? If you pay attention to what's going on in the Red Sea these days, you might be able to guess where I'm headed here.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you stay with me this year too, though I might be gone for a few months after maybe March cause of finals. But you can expect chapter 12 by the end of January or mid February.
As always, reviews/comments will be appreciated.