"How's that feel?"

"Good so far!" Sevastopol smiled from her seat in the workshop as Chapayev and Kirov worked diligently on her rigging, ensuring the first upgrades were installed successfully.

I gave her a smile and a thumbs-up before I returned my attention to her diagnostics. However, I was not the only observer in the room.

"Why Sevastopol first, Comrade?" Gangut asked. I could tell she was trying to keep the disappointment from her voice, but it snuck in nonetheless.

"She's got to get back to her duty station first," I answered honestly. "With the long travel time involved with sailing all the way around Europa to get back to the Black Sea, her post is going to be vacant the longest. Sadly, that means she'll have the least amount of time to visit, hence why we're knocking out her upgrades first."

Gangut nodded slowly. "That would mean Poltava's next, da?"

"Da," I confirmed. "Then you, since this is your home port. Sucks having to wait, I know, but look at it this way, the upgrade will be quicker when it comes your turn because we'll have found out what not to do with Sevastopol and Poltava."

"Do you mind not talking about me like I'm some kind of lab rat?" Sevastopol called out, shooting us both a dirty look.

We both sheepishly answered, "Sorry," in unison, and an awkward silence descended upon the room before Sevastopol spoke up again.

"You really gonna make him fight bears?" She asked, giving me an incredulous look.

"Hey!" I automatically objected, my masculine pride flaring up at the suggestion that I wasn't strong enough to fight bears. Even though I was clearly not strong enough to fight bears but how dare she say that out loud.

"He is not ready for that just yet," Gangut conceded, but before I could object again, she added, "But we will begin training him for it. The important thing we have to work on is stamina." She turned to me, giving me an appraising eye before declaring, "The rest will come easy to him, I think."

"Oh, um…thanks," I said, feeling momentarily flustered as my cheeks began to burn. Really needed to sit down and figure out how to build a romantic crucible. Crucible of Love? Yeah, that sounded catchy. "We should probably sit down and get started on some kind of workout schedule."

Gangut groaned and rolled her eyes. "Always with plans and schedules, Comrade. Why not be spontaneous for a change?"

"Because if someone needs to get a hold of me, they kinda need to know where I am," I shot back. "Trust me, I'd love to be a little more flexible with my schedule, but history's replete with disasters that could have been prevented if people had been reachable."

A bitter scowl crossed her face, but she sighed and shrugged in resignation. "If you say so, Comrade. I do not envy your position."

"Some days, neither do I," I admitted. Rank hath its privileges, as the old saying goes, but it has its burdens as well. "In any case, how are you going to handle my training?"

Gangut pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment as she eyed me up and down once more. "Running, I think would be a good start. Help build stamina." Her eyes suddenly lit up as an idea came to her. "No! Swimming." For a moment, I was perplexed by how excited she was about swimming, and then she added, "Polar bear swimming."

"Oh god," I muttered. I'd heard of it, of course, but the thought of jumping into literal freezing waters intentionally seemed like a terrible idea. Then again, so is wrestling bears…

Sensing my apprehension, Gangut gave me an exuberant smile and patted me on the shoulder. "Do not worry, Comrade! I have done this many times and I will be with you every step of the way!"

I looked over at Chapayev, Kirov, and Sevastopol for help, but the first two pretended to be buried in their work while Sevastopol simply watched this unfold. All of them were unable to hide their amused smiles, however. As I realized I was on my own for this one, I exhaled and nodded to Gangut. "So when do we start?"

"Tomorrow morning!" she declared. "Do you have a swimsuit packed?"

For a moment, hope blossomed. "Darn, sure don't," I said, mock-ruefully. "Shame."

That feeling was short-lived as Gangut simply grinned and waved dismissively. "Do not worry, Comrade, I will procure some for you tonight! Along with a pair of water shoes."

"Water shoes?" I repeated. "Why do I need shoes for going swimming?"

"In case of any ice, rocks, or other sharp objects on the shore or the seabed," Gangut answered, her expression serious. "I will not be reckless with your safety, Comrade."

Again, I felt my cheeks flush and I glanced down before smiling sheepishly up at her. "Thank you, Comrade Gangut. As always, I am in your debt."

Gangut smiled back, and we exchanged a quiet, heartfelt moment, looking into one another's eyes. That moment was short-lived, however, as Sevastopol broke the silence with "Get him a speedo!"

"No," I immediately shot back. "Absolutely not."

Sevastopol's eyes gleamed mischievously as she countered with, "What if Gangut wore a bikini as a trade? Something real skimpy, like a slingkini?"

My entire face must have looked like a tomato as the mental image of Gangut wearing something so revealing, and I tried to push it out of my mind while re-engaging the speech centers. Luckily for me, Gangut was ready to come to my aid. Sort of.

"Sevastopol!" she cried out admonishingly, her cheeks as red as mine. "You know that I have…difficulty…wearing those to begin with, let alone when one is as active as during a polar bear swim." A new mental image popped into my head, one more explicit than the last and I redoubled my efforts to put it from my mind before other things started to happen. Think about the cold, Mikhail, think about the icy, biting cold… "The last thing I want to do is distract our dear Comrade when he is trying to work out!"

Sevastopol still had that wolfish grin on her face and I could tell she was about to unleash another salvo of scantily-clad suggestions, so I decided discretion was the better part of valor. "Well," I began, clapping my hands together. "This has been super fun so far, but Gangut and I need to get going." I gestured to Kirov and Chapayev. "You two got things under control here?"

"Better than you do, Commander," Chapayev smirked.

I let the comment slide as Gangut looked at me in confusion. "Where are we going, Comrade?"

"Combat patrol."

Being carried to your flagship is an interesting experience, to say the least.

Gangut leaned against the railing and let out a loud, frustrated groan as we stared out over the sea, empty save for the icebergs that dotted the seascape. And I had to sympathize. There had been numerous sightings of Siren ships in this area, but now that we've come out here, it was dead quiet. I almost wished I brought some paperwork aboard just to pass the time, but I didn't want to make Gangut any more upset than she already was.

"Where are they?" she grumbled, pushing herself off the railing and storming into the plotting room. "The one time I get out in weeks and now they do not even have the temerity to show themselves?"

"We've had sightings of them, and recently, too," I explained as I watched her cycle through screens, looking for any hint of the enemy. "And it's not like we're heavily armed out here. It's just you, me, Tashkent, and Minsk."

That did little to appease Gangut, who stormed back outside and hollered, "Too frightened? Are you all frightened little babies? Come and fight me, you svolochs!"

"I don't think that's going to get them to show up…" No sooner had the words left my mouth than a number of Siren portals opened up, disgorging a sizeable fleet of mass-produced ships. "Or maybe it is. Battle stations!"

Tashkent and Minsk immediately leapt off the deck and took up screening positions off of Gangut's port bow, as the battleship's turrets began to rotate into position. Gangut and I quickly ducked into the plotting room, shutting the hatch behind us so the overpressure from the cannons wouldn't cause me any discomfort.

Together, we peered over the plotting table as I worked the switches and dials with increased confidence than my last combat experience. While I'll still be very grateful when she gets upgraded to a holotable, I was glad I could at least manage to work this antique with some level of competency. As I zoomed out, I let out a soft gasp as I saw just how many Sirens there were. No humanoids, thankfully, but there were over a dozen mass-produced warships, including no less than four battleships. We were in for one hell of a fight.

But that's precisely what Gangut was looking for. As I looked up at her from across the plotting table, I could see a broad, bright smile on her face, and she began to laugh uproariously. "Now this is more like it, Comrade!" she bellowed, her voice echoing in the cramped space. "Show me your strength so that I can show you mine!"

I gave her a tight smile in return as I glanced back down at the tactical display. We were facing off against five destroyers, six cruisers, and four battleships. The battleships, ironically, were the least of my concerns. Tashkent and Minsk could keep them busy while we took them out from range once we'd cleared out the rest. It was the cruisers and destroyers that were making me sweat. If they got within torpedo range, they could seriously damage Gangut, who would have problems maneuvering around them.

I opened a channel to Minsk and Tashkent as I began giving orders. "Gangut, plot a course for the iceberg to the northeast, want to get behind it as quickly as possible. Target the cruisers, closest first, then move on to the next once you've sunk or disabled it. Minsk, Tashkent, continue to screen us and focus fire on the destroyers. Use your torpedoes to break up any formations and keep them at a distance. I don't want them getting a spread off if we can avoid it. Any questions?"

"All clear, Comrade Commander!"

"Just leave it to us, dear Comrade."

Gangut grinned at me. "Now you will see the strength of the revolyutsiya, Comrade!"

I couldn't help but grin back. "Outstanding. Let's get to work. Ura!"

As one, they all repeated the cry before Tashkent and Minsk closed communications with me. Now that we were alone again, Gangut voiced her concerns. "Comrade, why are we hiding behind an iceberg?"

"You'll see," I smiled. "You'll get your heroic fight on this one, don't worry."

While she didn't seem entirely convinced, she was at least willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. "I will put my trust in you, Comrade."

"Thank you," I bowed my head slightly. "Now let's get firing."

Her doubts vanished, replaced by her boundless enthusiasm as she began to train her guns on the nearest Siren cruiser. Then, one by one, her guns thundered in sequence, a dozen loud bangs that caused the entire ship to shudder. Even from where we stood, behind the layers of thick armor, I could feel the rumbling in my chest with each shot.

On the display, I watched as the shells arced through the air before splashing down around the cruiser, pillars of water and steam rising from the sea as the ship began to take evasive action. But Gangut was already adjusting her aim, the shells landing closer and closer to the enemy. The tenth shell glanced off the black vessel's armored hull, ricocheting into the air before detonating harmlessly. The eleventh shell found its mark.

The shell vanished into the cruiser before detonating, a jet of flame briefly bursting from the hole it created until it faded, replaced by a rising column of smoke. Despite the damage, the enemy cruiser continued its evasive maneuvers, returning fire with its own guns. Now it was our turn to watch as the shells arced toward us and slammed into our hull. Gangut shuddered from the impacts, but her armor held.

"That's it!" Gangut roared over the din as she looked out of the armored viewport at her distant opponent. "Struggle! Resist with all your might!" She laughed boisterously as she continued her unrelenting assault. The cruiser was putting up a good fight, I had to admit, dodging more than a few of Gangut's shells while returning fire with surprising accuracy. But it wouldn't be enough. Unable to beat Gangut's armor, and with more and more shells finding their mark, the cruiser eventually succumbed to its wounds, drifting out of the battleline as power cut out, leaving it a burning hulk. It was quickly replaced by the next in line as it slid around its dying companion, guns already blazing. It was quickly backed up by the other four cruisers, moving out of line formation and into a wedge, allowing them to open up on us as well.

And while they may not have been able to breach the vital sections, like the magazines, engine rooms, and turrets, they could certainly damage less armored portions. The rumbling was now a cacophony as shells were traded at high velocity and in high volume.

"Jesus," I muttered to myself, knowing that anything I said at this point would be drowned out by the sound of either cannon fire or shells slamming into us. "Where's that damn iceberg?"

I zoomed out the tactical display, and I was heartened by what I saw. Two destroyers were already out of action, caught in the crossfire of torpedoes fired by Minsk and Tashkent, and the rest had backed off. Even better, they had begun to split off, with two destroyers and all four battleships headed toward the northern portion of the glacier, with the other two destroyers and the remaining cruisers heading south. I grinned triumphantly as they fell into my trap.

After another deafening thirty seconds, we had moved into cover behind the iceberg, and everything went blissfully quiet. With nothing left to shoot, Gangut turned to me, an expectant look on her face. "What now, Comrade?"

I flicked on the radio and grinned at her. "You'll see. Tashkent, Minsk, you copy?"

"Mhm."

"Minsk ready!"

"You two stay at the southern edge of the iceberg. There are two destroyers and five cruisers headed your way. As soon as they come around the corner, hit them with every last torpedo you've got, then mop up any survivors. Understood?"

"Roger."

"Copy!"

"Good." I flicked off the radio before smiling over at Gangut. "We're going to just keep sailing around the north point, flank speed. Or should I say…ramming speed."

Realization dawned in her eyes and she gave me a wolfish grin. "Da, Comrade!"

The decking vibrated, almost violently as Gangut poured every ounce of speed into her engines, thundering around the iceberg like a juggernaut. As we rounded the corner, we encountered the enemy just where I expected them to be. The two destroyers in front, their guns trained to the south, fully expecting us to be waiting for them in ambush on the western side of the iceberg.

The Northern Parliament kansen showed them no mercy, slamming into the lead destroyer bow-first. The Siren ship's forward section buckled, armor plates crumpling and cracking as she was shoved to starboard, directly into the path of the second destroyer. Automatically, it veered hard to avoid the wreckage of its comrade…only to place itself abeam of the lead Siren battleship. The larger warship snapped the destroyer in half, barely slowing as it found itself unable or unwilling to change speed or course in time. The massive guns on the Siren battleship began to turn, trying to train themselves on us as we sailed past, but it was already too late.

Gangut lined up her first salvo directly at the Siren's armored midsection. At point-blank range like this, the armor could do little to stop her shells from penetrating. "Dasvedanya, blyat!" Gangut laughed as she fired her forward two turrets directly into the enemy warship. All six found their mark, and smoke and flame immediately belched out of the rents torn open by Gangut's shells. The red lighting on the Siren battleship flickered, then died as she began drifting, helpless and without power.

I barely had enough time to register the first capital ship's incapacitation before Gangut trained her sights on the next ship. Her aft turrets fired, and almost instantaneously, the Siren battleship roared back. But it wasn't gunfire, it was a massive fireball and shockwave as its magazines detonated, hurtling debris everywhere and knocking me off my feet. Or it would have, had Gangut not caught me, pulling me back on my feet with a warm, protective smile.

I returned the gesture with a kind one of my own before I began issuing orders again. Somehow I doubted the crucible of battle and the crucible of love would be at the exact same time and place. "Hard to port and bring the guns around!" I barked, much to her glee as she realized what we were about to do.

"Aye-aye, Comrade!" she acknowledged, and the entire ship began to list to port as Gangut turned hard, attempting to head on a parallel track with the remaining two battleships. The pair of enemy dreadnaughts opened fire with their cannons but missed the smaller profile of Gangut's stern and the few that did hit simply ricocheted off her armored belt at that angle.

I watched, my heart in my throat as we continued to turn, then slowly straightened our course, coming alongside the Siren warships. I knew we'd only get one shot at this. If Gangut didn't knock them out, then at this range, full broadside, our armor wasn't going to hold up against their firepower.

She grinned as she aimed and fired. The ship shuddered as the first volley from turrets one and two fired, and then again as three and four belched flame and smoke. On the display, I could see the first battleship lose power and begin drifting, then the second.

"You did it!" I whooped as I punched the air. "Great shooting, Gangut!"

She boisterously laughed as she picked me up and hugged me tightly, spinning me around the small space. "I couldn't have done it without you, Comrade! I knew you had it in you!" Then she suddenly put me down, her smile gone, replaced by a sudden, cold realization. "The cruisers."

We'd completely forgotten about the cruisers Tashkent and Minsk had been tangling with. We dashed over to the plotting table just in time for the radio to crackle to life.

"You two finished yet?" Minsk playfully teased. "We're done here and I'm ready to go home."

Both of us laughed as I picked up the radio. "Yes, Minsk, we're headed back now. Set course for home and hop back on."

"Comrade, this calls for a victory drink when we return to port!" Gangut declared, and I couldn't help but agree. A successful patrol, Gangut was back to her old self, and I think we've finally patched the rift between us.

All in all, today was a very good day…

A/N-Whew! This is all going so well! Until next time, fair winds and following seas!