Cold All the Way Through, But Warming

Jutland

When Will got the orders to steam out, he wasn't surprised. If anything, he was expecting it, and exhausted. Their winter lull in the fighting had faded, with the weather improving the Germans had emerged from their harbors to menace the shores of England once again. They'd shelled Lowestoft and Yarmouth had only been saved by inclement weather. Will's squadron had been too far to be of an assistance in that instance, but not for the next one.

The zeppelins had been swarming London again, and a scheme had been hatched to destroy their bases with seaplanes launched from a converted merchant ship. Will had smirked when he had heard about it, knowing that Lights would be glad that he missed out. Will hadn't even been able to see the planes launch, Beatty had them steaming too far away.

It turned out to be a good thing he had.

Not only had three of the planes been forced down and their crews captured by the Germans, but a snow storm had come up, with a force of German destroyers in the middle. It had apparently been pure chaos, ships ramming into each other and guns useless with the horrible visibility. Two British ships had rammed their own fleetmates accidentally and only one German destroyer had been sunk. A month in port had given them time to repair and plot, and Beatty and Jellicoe were confident that their next strike would entice the Germans to battle.

Off the Danish coast, a fog bank had sprung up and Will had acted swiftly. He'd cut his speed, ordered lanterns placed along the entire length of the ship and had sounded his bell every minute. He would have sounded his foghorn, but he doubted that Beatty would be pleased by the loud horn giving away their position. He'd overseen every movement of their zigzag course himself, knowing all too well what could happen in the fog.

And it did happen.

Australia and New Zealand collided, both needing extensive repairs and essentially out of commission. Beatty had ordered them to return to port at that, and during the rush home, three destroyers hit each other and another ship rammed a merchant. Will had barely slept that night, and Sharpe had let him sleep clear through to the next day. None of the men seemed to care, simply glad that Will's efforts had seen them through the mission unscathed.

He had just sat down to dinner in his office when one of the intelligence boys rushed in, breathless. "Orders from Lion, sir. Signal flags say to raise enough steam for twenty-two knots and report when ready."

Will sighed, looking down to the roast on his plate. "Have the engineers get the boilers worked up, and tell Tyne to report to me when we're ready. I'll order the reply sent then."

The man saluted, "Aye, sir!"

Will sat back with a groan when he left, tossing his fork onto the table. Yet another cruise out, more than likely chasing nothing. It meant a sleepless night for him, for he would fret over everything. He trusted his officers, he truly did, but he always wanted to be sure that things were being done correctly. He would likely get a few hours of sleep, waking up to check on things then collapsing back into bed. But first he needed to eat, so he set too. The roast was cooked quite well, and the roasted vegetables with it were much needed.

Will was in the chart room, pondering the possible course when Tyne stuck his head in to say the engines were ready. Will waved him off, saying to send the signal to Beatty that they were ready. They set off shortly after, and Will drew his greatcoat on as he walked out onto the bridge wings. Rosyth slowly faded as anchors were hauled in and they made their way further out into the Firth.

He watched as Edinburgh slid by, the night silent aside from the sound of the engines and the wash of water disturbed by the propellers. He looked up as they passed under bridges, pulling his coat tighter around himself. The end of May was still nippy, and he headed back inside once they'd made their way past the edges of the city. He nodded to the helmsman and officer on watch, told them to awaken him if anything came in, and threw himself on his bed to try and get some sleep.