The Olympian Sisters #2 The Great War

Chapter 3

SOUTHAMPTON ENGLAND NOVEMBER 1 1914 "BRITANNIC"

Fury and Olympic moved side by side up the dredged Southampton channel in silence. Theseus said my sister had courage.

Olympic didn't think so, if she'd known there was a submarine still lurking around out there when she went in to try and save Hawke, she never would've left her dry dock.

Another question lurked in my sister's mind. The way some of the other battleships had looked at her, it was almost like they were envious.

What did she have that they did not have? They were the navy for crying out loud, she was supposed to be envious of them!

"What are you thinking about?" Fury asked. Olympic sighed. "Why are they jealous of me?" She asked.

"They're jealous because you can do things that many of them can't." Fury replied. Olympic snorted. "Like what, move fast? Yeah a great asset for running away." She said.

"No, you can move without your master. You put yourself in danger not once, but twice in the last month. You have no way to defend yourself against a torpedo or mine and yet, you drove right into the line of fire of both. Most battleships, though they'd never admit it, wouldn't even think about doing what you've done. And, moving the way you did without your master? No battleship can do control to that degree the way you did, not even Dreadnought. Us Battleships are trained to follow orders, we don't have minds of our own, not like you do. And as a result you can do things that are beyond our comprehension. You've done something that even our leader can't do. Dreadnought's the most powerful battleship of any navy afloat, and you've bested her. No wonder they're impressed and a little hostile." Fury said.

"Why would they be hostile?" Olympic asked. "Because you've shown them that battleships aren't top ship at everything. Can Dreadnought move without her captain? No, she can't. Can Dreadnought read any person's mind without a medium? No, she can't. None of us can do what you can do. We have every reason to be jealous." Fury growled.

Olympic sighed. "It was Oceanic who first told me I had the Gift of Minds." She said. "And, it was Oceanic who warned me of the potential of my sisters."

Fury shook her head. "You cannot blame yourself for Oceanic's demise." She said.

Olympic sighed. "No, but I can blame myself for Titanic's." She countered. Fury looked curious. "How?" She asked.

"When I collided with Hawke, the damages cost White Star a lot of money to and during the repair process I spent a lot of time with her. She was very troubled." Olympic began.

"So what did White Star do about it?" Fury asked. "They did nothing. Titanic pleaded with me to listen, with anyone who would listen. She, had the Gift of Foresight." Fury hissed through her teeth at that but Olympic continued. "I, pushed aside her concerns. I shouldn't have." Olympic answered.

"You can't blame yourself. Wasn't Campania in Belfast during this time? Did she do anything to help?" Fury asked. "She tried. And the two were very close but I didn't approve. Not that it mattered." Olympic shook her head and laughed softly.

"My sister was stubborn. Once she had her mind set to something, she wasn't about to let it go." Olympic murmured. "But Campania's presence there wasn't entirely helpful."

"Why?" Fury said. Olympic wondered if she should tell Fury the truth. She was a battleship. But she's a British battleship. The voice in her head argued.

Sighing, she told Fury about the hoax. "I don't know who came up with the plot, but I'll find out somehow." She growled. "Campania encouraged the rumor, but I think she genuinely believed it would happen and tried to stop it. Not that it mattered, the rumor was always just that."

"What if they're already dead? What if someone else found out before you? What if they killed the killer first?" Fury asked.

"Do you know who did it?" Olympic asked. Fury shrugged. "I swore not to tell. And it's not my place to share this with you, anyway." Fury lowered her voice as they had arrived at Southampton. Olympic's gaze traveled over each one of the White Star ships docked there. She loved them all.

Oceanic had told her to keep them alive. She knew she had to, somehow. She turned to Fury. "Thank you for your help, Fury. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help the Navy." Fury nodded.

"Britain needs all her ships now. The Admiralty is calling on all ships for the war effort, you'll begin conversions tomorrow." She said.

Sighing, Olympic turned to her fleet. Adriatic approached her. "Olympic, we heard about Audacious. When you didn't report back we got worried." She said. "Sorry." Olympic murmured. The fact that we were at war reminded my sister that she could be sunk at any time.

Olympic knew she would need a successor to lead White Star through the war if she was killed.

"Ships of White Star, hear me now." She called. The surrounding ships stopped talking and strained to listen.

"The British Admiralty is in need of our services. Starting tomorrow, we will be active ships in His Majesty's Navy. We will no longer have claim to the status of passenger liner and as such, will no longer have the protection of the Geneva Convention. We will be free targets for submarines, which is why I have decided to choose a deputy to lead you in the event that I am sunk. Celtic will be the deputy of White Star." She announced.

"What, me?!" Came the shocked exclamation of Celtic as she made her way forward.

"I can think of no better ship to serve at my side." Olympic said gently. "I never expected this." She murmured.

"And that is exactly why I chose you. I don't want a deputy who thinks she deserves power, I want a ship who knows she can serve her fleet and her country to the best of her ability." Celtic nodded. "Then that's what I'll do." She said.

"Celtic, Celtic, Celtic" came the cry from the surrounding White Star ships. Olympic heard the strong voices of Lusitania and Mauretania, leader and deputy of Cunard, join in with the rest.

Now she had a loyal deputy to help her see her fleet through this war. But she still had no idea how she was going to do that.

Arizona's voice sounded in her head. "Your feelings are what make you strong, Olympic. Listen to your heart, for that is where the answer lies."

Olympic turned to look at Fury, but her eyes were on someone else. My sister thought back to the conversation she'd just had with the warship. Fury was looking at Lusitania with a silent warning in her eyes. Some secret understanding passed between them and Fury left.

Did Lusitania kill my sister? Olympic wondered. Then she remembered something that Fury said. "What if the killer's already been murdered? What if someone else beat you to it?" A question occurred to her, one that made more sense than anything else.

"Could Lusitania have been the one who avenged my sister?"