Unstable Loyalties

Chapter 18

Lightning groaned as she opened her eyes slowly. Every part of her body ached and there was a bandage wrapped from her wrist to her elbow. 

"Lightning!" Bismarck gasped as she woke with a start, feeling Lightning's hand twitch.  Lightning felt a pang of guilt. Bismarck must have been so worried about her that she did not even leave her side. 

"I'm... fine..." Lightning whispered as she struggled to get up. Ratchet, seeing this, immediately walked over and told her not to strain herself too much. Lightning just sighed softly as she lay back down. All her cuts and bruises were almost healed, thanks to the fact that she had her wisdom cube back, but she still had to regain her strength. Yamato, who had been standing a distance away, left before returning with a glass of water, passing it to Lightning who thanked her. 

"I believe this belongs to you," Essex said with some amusement in her voice as she handed Lightning the captain's hat. Smiling, Lightning took it from Essex's hands and fastened it on her head once she managed to sit up. 

"It's good to see that you are doing better, Lightning," Optimus said as he activated his holoform and walked over. 

<Yeah! It's not that easy to withstand that much torture!> Bumblebee "said". 

"Rest up, Lightning, intelligence says that the Sirens are planning something big, tell us what you observed when you were kidnapped tomorrow, it can wait," Essex murmured as Lightning nodded faintly before closing her eyes and lying down, falling asleep in a few minutes. 

"Will she be alright?" Yamato asked Ratchet. 

"Well, given the rate of her healing, she should be fine, however, she should keep that bandage on for a day at least, in two more days, she should have regained her strength to be fit for combat," Ratchet replied. 

"You should get some rest too, Bismarck," Optimus spoke. However, Bismarck just shook her head stubbornly and said, "I'm not going anywhere until she wakes up again. She was there when I needed her help, I should be here for her as well." Optimus just nodded. Flare muttered, 

"Looks like she is quite strong after all, I guess I underestimated her." When Bismarck heard this, a ghost of a smile appeared on her face but disappeared as quickly as it formed.

The next day...

Lightning was feeling much better. A good night of rest had allowed her to regain her strength and she was ready to tell them all she knew. 

"If I'm not wrong, they do not have anymore of the liquid. I heard Unicron yelling at Tester about it a few days back. Apart from that... they are preparing for something. Something big. Recently before you all rescued me, they injured me more severely and seemed to ask me more questions, demanding answers," Lightning recalled as she undid the bandages on her arm, revealing a long scar that stretched from her elbow to a few centimetres from her wrist.

"Looks like that can't be healed..." Lightning sighed. 

"We should probably step up our training and patrols," Bismarck suggested while Blueflash asked, "How is it even possible for you all to step up your training more than it already is?" 

"Simple," Yamato replied curtly, "Eight hours of training spread out over the course of each day." Hearing this, Blueflash's eyes widened in shock. 

"Should be fine, I've had worse," Lightning muttered, exchanging a look with Essex as they smiled, thinking about Enterprise's rigorous training. Once, Enterprise even had Lightning training though the course of the night. Optimus agreed to step up the patrols as the other shipgirls nodded and headed to train, Lightning sitting at a side and watching. 

 "Quick, Yamato, take the opportunity!" Lightning shouted as Bismarck stumbled slightly. Yamato nodded, her eyes narrowed in fierce concentration as she aimed her guns and fired, knocking Bismarck down and winning the match. 

"Hey! You were supposed to be on my side!" Bismarck protested with mock hurt. 

"Well, too bad!" Lightning snickered as she hit the battleship playfully. Bismarck just groaned. Yamato started practicing her katana skills, slashing and jabbing, spinning to the side and flipping in the air.  Lightning watched her for a while before she looked at her arm, tracing her finger down her scar. Quickly, she pulled down her sleeve, hiding it. Yet another scar to add to my life she sighed mentally as she gazed around before walking into her ship, settling down in a bunk. Picking up a book on the bed, she started to re-read 'The Pacific War', immersing herself in naval history as the time flew by. 

Lightning yawned and stretched, heading out. She had finally finished reading it (and used up a whole box of tissue too) so she went onto her flight deck, sitting down on the end of it and waiting for Bismarck to arrive. Soon enough, the battleship settled down next to her, the two of them gazing up at the stars. A few minutes later, they heard footsteps and Lightning stiffened, relaxing once she saw that it was just Optimus. 

"The stars are so pretty tonight..." she whispered as she fingered the pendant around her neck. 

"Yeah," Bismarck murmured, "How do you think Tirpitz is?" 

"I'm sure she is fine, probably missing you too," Lightning replied as Bismarck let out a soft sigh. 

"How bad is the war back in your world?" Optimus questioned. 

"It has been going on since many years ago. The Sirens just never seem to stop fighting. Sure, there are times that are peaceful, but sooner or later they regroup and continue their attacks, fortunately, no one has been killed yet, but I fear that a lot more blood will be shed before this is over," Bismarck answered as Lightning placed a hand on the battleship's shoulder. 

"They always seem to fight, this war feels so endless..." Lightning trailed off as Optimus said, 

"Have faith, one day, everything will work out and there will be peace, you just have to remember what you fight for. Fate is laid out in ways unimaginable, we should just live our lives as they are, accept whatever life throws at us and overcome it with our own solutions. Continue believing and sooner or later, all the pieces will fall  into place..."  

Another chapter completed! Hope you like it!

~Lightningstar out