Commander's Rounds Volume 1

Entry 24-2: Commander's Holidays- Another King

The commander had plans.

Of course, plans don't always work out.

The commander knew that he was going to be spending Christmas evening with King George V, as the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations would have wound down by around then- he always had a general idea of how things went down on his own base. However, he had hoped to see King George V before then, and he had even cut out a bit of time to do so for one evening- thanks to working a bit smarter, he'd managed to clear a bunch of flotsam from his inbox.

However, King George V wasn't so lucky- there were some Royal matters to take care of that weren't interference from Queen Elizabeth. It had to do with the holiday prep and all, and seeing as there were people who did actually enjoy the run-up, he wasn't going to press matters. After all, they did have plans that couldn't be messed with.

With the plans for this evening shot, however, he was left with not much to do- and as inexplicably wintry as it was, he did want to go out and see how the decorations were coming late that afternoon. He knew that some of the lights and things had been set up and plugged in, and he wanted to make his rounds to see the fleet at work on something other than training or exercises.

So, the commander went along his way, and the night was well-lit not just by the lampposts but by some more colorful illumination. At the Union dorm, they were still testing the lights, having Eldrige hold on to the plug to see how things looked before plugging them in for real. The Ironblood and Sardengans were working together on their own display, and Enterprise, of course, was doing her own work at playing Santa to the crowd.

As he made his way towards the docks, however, he spotted someone else just standing there, which made him wonder if the holidays were driving him crazy.

She looked almost exactly like King George V, but this one was shorter, being merely his own height rather than distinctly taller than him, and there were a couple of differences in her fashion as well- her perilously short skirt was black and red instead of white and red, and this woman had traded in her dark stockings for dark thigh-high boots instead- and where King George V went bare-handed, this one wore white gloves. She still had a very distinctly Royal look, but those changes gave her a touch of Iron Blood in her styling. Everything else, her hair, her eyes, her generous proportions- everything was identical.

She caught him staring. "Pardon?" Even the same voice.

The commander stood straight. "You are King George V, if I'm not mistaken?"

She put a hand on the top of her sword. "You are not at all mistaken, I assure you. I am, in fact, the dreadnought battleship King George V of the Royal Navy, defender of the Blessed Isles- Crown, Country, Empire, and all."

A silence hung between them for a while, but this "King George V" was at least patient.

"Hold on a minute." The commander took out his phone. "Would you mind holding still for a moment?"

"For what purpose?"

The commander explained. "I'd like to take a picture."

She took a look at his smartphone. "That seems to be rather small for a camera, but perhaps I have not been properly apprised of developments in photography. Very well, you may do this."

She posed as if for a royal portrait, and the commander took a picture. "Now, if you'll wait a moment, it needs to set properly."

The other King George did indeed wait while the commander texted to "his" King George.

Skk: Have you got a spare moment? There's something I need you to look at.

KingGeorgeV: So long as it's quick, sure.