The Lone Queen Of The North

Prologue

In the Baltic Sea a lone battleship sat, unmoving, with near to no signs of activity. No sailors roamed on the deck, among the guns of multiple caliber. The only thing that one could see from afar, was the waving of the water. Though, the closer one gets, the more things one could see.

         The battleship had a sleek, grey design with no camouflage present on her hull. Two twin barrelled turrets sat at the front of the ship, and two at the back giving a total of four main battery turrets. A single smokestack rose behind the intimidating superstructure, behind it being a launch bay for a reconnaissance plane. Down below, on both starboard and port sides, two torpedo launchers with four tubes each, resided.

        This ship was the former German battleship, Tirpitz. Before, she sailed in service to the Fleet of Fog, a massive fleet of superships armed with the most advanced weaponry the world had ever seen, now she sails alone. Or she did, until she found a sailor drifting along the waves...

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          Leutnant Michael Schmidt was a relatively new sailor in the German Navy. He volunteered to be deployed on a new experimental warship: the Type-93. The new battleship was to track down and engage a Fog ship. Many sailors protested due to them thinking that an engagement is the equivalent to suicide.

        Unfortunately for them and Michael, the engagement was a complete failure. This resulted in leaving Michael as the sole survivor. The ship responsible for the destruction was a destroyer: Z-23.

       After having been in the cold Baltic Sea, Michael eventually lost consciousness, and drifted until he was found by the Tirpitz. The ship's Mental Model grew curious as to why a human had found his way into the sea since all routes and ports had been blockaded. At first, the tall, black-haired girl sat still, observing the man.

         Deciding that rescuing the young Leutnant would prove beneficial, Tirpitz formed a solid, holographic path that led from her hull, to the unconscious man. She lifted him effortlessly, and carried him back to the ship. Tirpitz lay Michael down gently, shortly kneeling down and placing his head on her lap.

         Tirpitz didn't know what she was doing, except that she felt it necessary. For a minute, the Mental Model looked down at the young sailor, and sat absolutely still. Then, she began stroking his hair, an action which surprised her. Later on, she began singing a lullaby. Eventually, Michael slowly began to regain consciousness...

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Michael

         Ugh... my head hurts... what happened?

        I tried moving, but I couldn't find the strength. I tried opening my eyes, however I struggled and gave up in the end. Then I heard it: a light, angelic voice singing a lullaby. It was very comforting, and it gave me a chance to forget about the outside world for a while. Eventually, my hearing became clearer, and as well as the comforting voice, the waves called to me, telling me to awaken. So, I did.

          I opened my eyes slowly, then quickly shut them when I was nearly blinded by the light. I tried again, slower this time, and succeeded. I took in my surroundings. I felt the rocking of the waves, thus telling me that I was aboard a ship, or at least a boat. Then I found the origin of the voice. She was easily the prettiest girl I've ever seen.

        She had long black hair, tied in twin tails. Her eyes were electric blue, which shone brightly. Her face held an expression of curiosity, an expression that I found adorable on this face. It was then I began wondering if I had woken up in my dying moments. But I couldn't be... I still had my senses... where was I? It turned out that I was going to get answers pretty soon.

???: "Good morning."

Michael: "Ah... good morning to you too..."

???: "Are you alright? You seem to have sustained minor injuries. You are lucky that I found you, else you would've died from the cold."

Michael: "Uh, yes. I'm fine... how'd you find me though?"

         The girl went silent in thought. Then she looked back down at me with a small smile.

???: "It'd be better if I showed you instead..."

         The girl the moved to the side so I'd get a clear view at what she meant. Behind her stood four massive guns, mounted in pairs in two huge turrets. Behind them stood a conning tower. Both of those were of Second World War design... my eyes widened with the realization that I was aboard a Fog battleship.

         I tensed up and tried escaping but the girl held me down. I looked at her fearfully, my heart pounding hard. She seemed to notice my distress, and held my hand in an effort to calm me down. She succeeded in holding me still, nothing else.

Michael: "Y-you're with them! You're with the Fog!"

          As I said that, her cheery expression morphed into a sad one. She then looked at me straight in the eyes.

???: "Indeed I am... but does it affect what you think of me?"

         I looked at her, dumbfounded.

Michael: "Well, yes! You and your friends wiped out the worlds' navies and restricted us to the land! Now, thanks to this, half of Europe is at war!"

         The girl(?) stayed silent as if she were in thought. Then she smiled as if she had a solution.

???: "Then become my captain, and we shall turn the table against the Fog. I never really liked the others' desire to solely oppress."

Michael: "...What's the catch?"

???: "Nothing. Though we'll have to sail to Kiel, explain the situation, gather food and medical supplies... or we could sail alone and unopposed, doing the odd job here and there. Plus... gathering a crew of trusted individuals may prove beneficial in the long run..."

          The girl removed her hands, thus giving me the freedom of movement once more. I stood up and looked out at the Baltic. I thought about her proposition, how it may affect the outcome of the war... how it may affect humanity's future. I looked back at the girl after making my decision.

Michael: "I'll become your captain. I've always considered the sea to be my calling... so why let this chance slip by? I may not know what's going to be in store for us, but I'm willing to go through many hardships to improve humanity's future."

          For some reason, the girl smiled at my answer.

???: "Then, Captain... introductions are in order. I am Tirpitz, the Mental Model of the large battleship Tirpitz. May I now know your name?"

Michael: "My name is Michael Schmidt. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."