The Lone Queen Of The North

Chapter 4: The Atlantic

           Shortly after the battle between the Tirpitz and the Scharnhorst, both ships separated and agreed to rendezvous in the Atlantic. Scharnhorst remained in the Baltic and salvaged the Nanomaterial from the three wrecked U-Boats, collecting the Cores as well. Despite having joined the newfound fleet, her status hadn't changed in the Fog's Tactical Telepathic Network ("Telepathic Network" for short), so she was still able to access the Fog's resupply ports.

           Meanwhile, Michael and his crew were preparing to sail from the port of St. Nazaire.

          "That was underwhelming," Franz commented, "I expected more of an open welcome and an opportunity to get more supplies."

          "I agree," hummed Talia, "those guys weren't friendly at all!"

         "Don't forget that we're their enemies, you two," Michael interjected, "just because we come in with a Fog battleship on our side doesn't guarantee instant friends. Besides, look at the port's condition; they have nothing to defend themselves with."

          "You make a fair point there, Michael," Rudolf jumped in, "however, they could've shown us some sort of friendliness. I've heard of towns and some cities going about their daily lives without a worry in the world."

           "While that may be true for some, it certainly wasn't for us," Michael stated, "anyways, our next objective is to rendezvous with Scharnhorst in the Atlantic, then from there, we either go through what remains of the Panama Canal or we go through the Arctic. We need to meet with the Japanese, apparently they have developed a new weapons system and they're shipping it to the US via their Fog submarine; the I-401."

           The group stepped off of the streets and entered the docks, still conversing.

           "I've heard that they tried sending it via SSTO," Helena added, "was it successful?"

           "No," Michael responded, "just like the majority of our satellites, it was shot down."

           "Oh..."

          "By the way, Klara, how're our provisions doing?" Michael asked.

          "More than enough to cross the Atlantic," she replied, "though it'll be a stretch if we were to go through the Arctic. We could probably make it with a lot of it left if we rationed it."

          "I can grow some fruits and vegetables," Tirpitz piped up, "well, I can make a temporary farm on deck..."

          That caught everyone's attention.

          "You can?!" Michael asked with enthusiasm.

          "Yep! If Courageous can do it, so can I!"

          "Who's 'Courageous'?"

          "Ah, yes, you don't know her. She's an Assault and Suppression ship, or you can call her an aircraft carrier. Her flight deck is littered with rows of fruits and vegetables. We can easily obtain some from her because she's easily one of the most amicable of the Fog."

         Michael brought his hand under his chin in thought.

         "You're going to have to teach us things about the Fog," he finally said after a few moments of silence.

         "As you wish, captain," Tirpitz replied.

          The rest of the walk back to the battleship was shrouded in a peaceful silence, each person holding some form of happy thought. Tirpitz, however had very different thoughts. She held her gaze on her captain, no, on Michael. She wanted to know more about him, how he thinks, how he generally stays positive and how he has such a vast reserve of patience with his step-sister.