The Prince Of Wales

Chapter 18: Day Two

Riley slowly awoke. He had not been awoken this time. So, as he sat up, he decided to take a look around. He noticed that all but one of the shipgirls were still sleeping.

Riley got up and walked gently to the other side of the bed. He checked Fortune's pulse using the artery in her neck. Her pulse seemed healthy, and that reaffirmed to Riley that shipgirls must have some sort of cardiovascular system. He decided to make a mental note of that in case it was important later.

He could see that Long Island was no longer in bed. In fact, she was gone completely. Javelin seemed to have not paid the escort carrier any mind, as she was still fast asleep.

Riley decided to look further around the room as quietly as possible. Despite the fact that he had been in an alert state of mind in this room, he had not paid too much attention. He knew that thought wasn't a good thing, and he had to get to work on improving his attention. Hopefully, I can have some time to take this all in, he thought to himself.

His eyes drifted towards the corridor. There was some sort of noise echoing towards him. It was gentle, so he didn't feel the need to wake anyone else up. He walked nimbly in the direction of corridor, only stopping for a moment to make sure he had not awoken any of resting warships. He was satisfied with the sounds of sleep that drifted towards the walls as he turned to walk down the hallway.

As he headed down the hallway, he glanced at the walls. He had only been through here a fee times, so he was doing his best to take it all in. He wondered where Long Island could be. He had some ideas of where she could be, but, in the back of his mind, he held onto an uneasy feeling. He came to a halt as he was deep in his thoughts.

"Commander?" A questioning remark filled the air and snapped Riley back to reality.

Just like that, a pair or azure eyes were gazing inquisitively at him. There was the gentlest hint of concern in the girl's voice and gaze. Riley realized that he must have looked out of it, and that he probably was actually somewhat out of it. He promptly cleared his throat, "Yes, Long Island."

A small smile slowly crept across the shipgirls face. "I see that you're awake, but it anyone else?" She prompted him.

"Not that I know of," Riley replied. "But," he said as he looked down at his attire. "I haven't checked in with Köln," he admitted.

Long Island returned an inquisitive gaze. "Well," she began promptly. "You won't need too."

Riley nodded. But, after a second, he wanted to make sure he was correct in regards to what she had meant. "So, you checked in on her this morning?" He asked.

"Of course," Long Island replied rather quickly. "I am your secretary after all," she added poignantly and pulled a clipboard from behind her back.

Riley thought for a moment. "I see," he said as he laid his eyes on the clipboard. "Would you wait here for a few minutes please?" He asked her.

Long Island nodded and feigned a smile. "Take as long as you need," she said as a small formality.

Riley turned and walked into the bathroom. He knew that the water in the shower wouldn't last long, so he washed himself as quickly as he could. The water was ice cold, but knew it could be worse. He quickly changed into the uniform provided to him, but that also provided a distraction. It was such a distraction that he forgot Long Island would be standing there when he walked back out into the hallway.

He was looking down at his suit as he stepped out into the hallway. He came to a stop in the middle of the hallway and seemed to be lost in the details of his clothes.

Long Island stood next to him and watched him for a short amount of time. She wondered what he was doing. "Commander?" She inquired of him, concerned.