Commander's Rounds

Entry 42: Uncharted Waters

The commander paced back and forth in the waiting room where he had changed. It wasn't long now, and Z23 was with him. The commander hadn't given any directive on how the best man should dress, of course, so the destroyer had chosen something black. Some people might take it as ominous, but it was the way that the Ironblood tended to dress for special occasions, even ones like these. Besides, the commander never really chose to dictate what dresses the girls were and weren't allowed to wear, as it made them comfortable to dress as revealing, or not, as they pleased. It was true for all the years he had been their commander and would continue to be true on this, their wedding day.

The commander himself had decided to put on his dress uniform for the occasion. It was a thing in military weddings, though he felt a bit odd about it, seeing as he knew King George V would opt for an actual dress. She would look magnificent enough for the occasion even in her regular clothes.

The great meeting hall which had been used for many other occasions, such as holidays and the like, such as when he made his first address to the fleet as their commander was where all this was taking place. It had basically been converted into a temporary cathedral for the occasion- there was a church on the island, but it was hardly large enough to accommodate everyone he had asked to come... Which was essentially everyone.

Newcastle had made the step of enlisting the aid of the Bulins, the strange but enthusiastic worker boats that appeared around the same time as the shipgirls, but didn't seem to be related to the Wisdom Cubes. The commander could only speculate on what they were- perhaps a representation of the vast number of often undifferentiated support and logistics craft that was nonetheless essential to keeping a navy afloat. That would explain why they had proclaimed Vestal and Kashino to be their leaders, at least.

Z23 noticed his pacing. "Anxious?"

"Naturally." He stopped for a moment. "Considering how many hundreds of eyes are going to be on me to not mess this up, I'd rather this part be done with."

Friedrich smiled. "Ah, my darling- perhaps there are things you can't wait to be up to, once this is over with?"

The commander was startled a bit, but composed himself. "Ah... Maybe. But something like this is meant to be a good time for everyone, and I think that the reception will have more things for everyone to enjoy- it might be a bit of a bear for some of our people to sit through. But I think the cardinal will know my mood. Speaking of which, how does it look out there?"

Z23 gave a nod. "Last I checked, people were just waiting for things to kick off. Shinano has already fallen asleep."

The commander shrugged. "Frankly, that probably won't stop her from perceiving the ceremony. As always, it's best to leave her be." He shrugged. "I feel like I should be spending this time talking to King George. We've both been busy with our own side of the preparations."

Z23 piped up. "You know that's bad luck, commander."

The commander shrugged. "And whoever came up with that ought to be keel-hauled. Not that I'm in command of a fleet that really has keels in the traditional sense, so I wonder what that would even look like if one of you did it." He actually did think about it for a moment. Would they just step on the person? Perhaps not- some people might even pay good money for such a thing.

Friedrich giggled. "As much as you might wish for revenge against the past, you'll be seeing your beloved quite soon, and then you'll have each other all to yourselves for a little while- and we'll be sure not to bother you with trivial things. Keep your mind on that, will you, darling?"

Soon after she said that, Forbin poked her head in. "Commander, you're on soon."

"That's that, then. I'll be out soon enough." The commander looked to other two. "Well, looks like it's time."