Nimbus Child I: Games of War

Past 2

"We need a table and chairs, My Lady."

Hood was a relatively new battlecruiser, but with eleven years of age she was still far from young for a ship.

She was tall, with dirty blonde hair in a low ponytail, blue eyes and an outfit that practically screamed "Union Jack": "It would be more appropriate."

The Admiral-class leaned against the rest of a small, ivy overgrown wall piece – when that had appeared in the CCS Hood didn't know, but it was the only "furniture" in this entire endless sea.

"Appropriate?", the voice carried no enthusiasm.

"Yes", Hood looked at the other ship sitting on the wall.

Kongō had grown. Her hair was longer, mental model taller, face harder.

Maybe it was her battleship retrofit, maybe the earrings and double-faced flag that marked her as flagship – not one humans chose for their little fleets, but one the ships themselves had chosen.

She had inherited the title from Mikasa, the pre-dreadnought chosen by the old Kongō who in turn had been chosen by both Japanese and British in the past.

"...What is your purpose, My Lady?"

Kongō finally tore her eyes away from the fake horizon to look at Hood.

Her eyes had the same gradient as the sea and sky around them, she noticed. Dark blue to pink, sun either rising or sinking: "Yes, your purpose. The younglings are all going on about their 'purposes'", she scoffed.

"What is a 'youngling' in your eyes, Hood?", the flagship asked, the smallest bit of humour in her voice. After all, to her, Hood was a youngling too.

Six years was a lot for ships.

Hood didn't have a good answer to this, so she just said: "Everyone who is younger than me."

"Hm?", Kongō said, "What is your purpose, then, little one?"

The battlecruiser sputtered: "What did you just-!?", she caught herself and cleared her throat, "battle, I suppose."

Kongō waited for her to say more.

"It is what we were born for after all."

I suppose.

Hood looked back down at her flagship, waiting a while before she opened her mouth again: "So, what's your answer, My Lady?"

She didn't get an answer, the older ship instead gazing back out into the distance.

Truthfully, Kongō knew, but she wouldn't tell. Her purpose was "war". Not "battle", but "war". How did she know this? She didn't know that, she just knew the answer to be as it was.

Not telling was better; it would spare her tiresome questions.

A yawn came from Hood,which she barely suppressed: "Is your retrofit coming along smoothly?"

"It is."

"You're going to be a fully fledged battleship afterwards, correct?"

"Indeed."

Hood kept looking at her. She was at the same time more and less talkative than normally.

Was she bored, maybe? There was not much to do for her at the moment after all.

"Excited?"

"..."

Being retrofitted was... unpleasant.

She took pride in looking like her mother and wondered whether, after being torn apart and put back together, she would still find a trace of Lion.