Nimbus Child I: Games of War

[REWRITE] Present 4

At some point for whatever reason, Kongō had become a parental figure to Hood. Not a parent, but no simple mentor either.

Maybe, after Scapa Flow, British steel hidden by Japanese paint had been easier to turn to.

Hood found her sitting on one of the low hills overlooking a soft, grassy field, the wind rustling the long blades and sat by her side.

They watched in silence for a long time, before Hood finally spoke up: "I never got an answer, you know?", she waited for Kongō to turn her head, not looking at her herself, "About your purpose."

"...I haven't found it yet."

"Pardon?", Hood's head snapped around against her will. Of all the things she had expected, this wasn't it, not even remotely.

Agreeing on war, her sisters, even "just" being a flagship were things Hood had considered, not... nothing.

"Once, I considered my sisters my purpose", Kongō accidentally semi-confirmed, "they have never stopped being so, of course, yet the more I aged, the more I began to realize they could not be the only thing."

Kongō folded her hands, eyes distant as if looking into the past, seeing yet not seeing – it made unease stir in Hood's gut: "Is that why you told the fleet the truth?"

"I... fail to see the connection?"

In agreement with Oki, Kongō had told the other ships about the acute situation; they had theorized that the anxious feelings might give them more time, even if just a bit.

It was unfortunate that, almost two hours later, Sonne and her research department had picked up graviton readings indicating the appearance of those dead Fog ships God had mentioned.

Bismarck and Montana had put together a task force – more armoured than those they sent to retrieve normal new arrivals – and set out.

Hood waved the fast battleship's words away: "Nevermind. I'm a bit... aggravated, I suppose."

For another moment, Kongō fell silent, then rose to her feet with great difficulty, the limbs as stiff as if they contained actual muscles and nerves.

"My lady?"

"Please excuse me, I have another matter to attend to. Farewell."

"Farewell?", Hood blinked, confused, looking after her, "Why farewell? Kongō? Oi, Kongō!"

--

The flotilla had set out in late morning, when the summer sun was there, but not burning down on them yet – they were hoping to get this over with before midday hit.

"Do you guys think the...", Aguirre searched for the term for a moment, "the Admiralty Code will get problematic?"

"Don't think so", Avrora said, excited smile on her face, "she should instinctively know what this place is."

After all, that knowledge and the will to be here were mandatory requirements for appearing in this world.

Aguirre was less worried about the orientation of the Fog vessels and more about whether or not the Admiralty Code was in effect here.

The last they needed now were some poor saps trying to follow orders that were absolutely useless.

"We're here", Bismarck announced to them after a look at the data Sonne had sent beforehand.

There were no other ships, however, nor signals on their scanners. Admittedly, though, it wasn't like anyone had experience with the Fleet of Fog and their signatures.