The Iowa Sisters #1 Pacific Fire

Chapter 17

SOUTHAMPTON ENGLAND AUGUST 1943 "AQUITANIA"

I yawned and stretched, at ease in my berth. All around me were the familiar sounds of activity in this busy port. It had been several months since Tirpitz, and I couldn't help but wonder how she was doing.

After blowing up one of the camps, she'd returned to Norway. Occasionally, the Cunard office would get updates from her and I was always on the lookout for messages from "Grounded Eagle", which was Tirpitz's unofficial code signature.

The battleship chose that name because in her mind, being stuck up in Norway was the equivalent of being, as the humans would call it, grounded from active duty. Oh, she would still patrol and participate in the odd skirmish here and there but overall, she was doing nothing.

I smiled, which brought a cheery response from my captain when he came aboard after a night in the city. "Got a message from Tirpitz here for you." He said. "Shh, tell it to the whole world why don't ya." I hissed. "Sorry, Aqua." He said. "Whenever you refer to her, call her Grounded Eagle, it's the name she puts on all her messages." I said. He nodded. "What does the message say?" I asked.

He opened it up and read it to me silently, his hands on the wheel. I listened carefully. "RUSSIANS INVADING NORWAY, HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO HAMBURG. THE SEA KAISER GIVES YOU HER REGARDS."

"Who's the Sea Kaiser?" My captain asked. "Probably Gustloff, I know she's helping Grounded Eagle." I replied. "Makes sense, she was named for the Kaiser after all." He muttered.

I kept a careful eye out for the Luftwaffe as my passengers boarded. They were more like refuges, innocent civilians trying to escape the ravage of warfare back home. Since the Battle of Britain three years earlier, Germany had kept their distance but one could never be too careful.

Several 1st class passengers caught my eye. One was an older man, in his 60's it seemed. The women he was with obviously appeared to be his wife. He caught my eye. "Don't mind me, to you I'm just another passenger ok?" He asked. From the accent I deduced he was German and for some reason, he seemed oddly familiar. "Name's Albert, leave it at that ok Aqua." He said. I was certain that he had a different name than the one he had given me. If he wanted to play it secret that was fine by me as long as he didn't cause any trouble.

Soon, all was ready to go. This was my last load before joining Queen Mary in New York. From there, we would proceed to different parts of the world, ferrying troops back and forth across the Atlantic.

My whistle blew and it was anchors aweigh. Albert remained on deck, taking in the beautiful sights of the English Channel. All running lights were off and the fog was beginning to set in but he didn't seem to mind. "Odd fellow that man." My captain muttered.

"Indeed." I muttered back. He heard me though and gave me a slightly annoyed glare. "You know I can hear you Aqua." He muttered. I sniffed. "I would relax a little if you just told me your name." I replied. "I told you, it's Albert." He said. "Just promise me you're not here to cause harm to anyone." I asked. "I'm not." He replied.

"You promise?" I asked. "I swear on my father's life, I'm not." He replied. Something about this oath made me wince. "Tell me your real name, Albert before I toss you over the side." I growled. "Oh come on now, you wouldn't do that." He chided. "Oh yeah, try me." I replied and just to prove it, I rolled heavily to starboard, flinging him against the railing. "Next time, I won't stop at 300." I hissed.

"Ok, ok if you're really that persistent." He glanced around him a few times. I had to strain to hear what his next words were. I'm still not sure if I got them right. "My real name is Adalbert Ferdinand Berengar Viktor." He said. "Prince Adalbert of Prussia?" I asked. "Yes, that's me." He said simply.