Defection (MentalModel!Brothers and OC)

Chapter 3

Stopping in front of the arm walkway that had been completely folded up as if there was no ship to board, I looked up to the bridge tower of the heavy cruiser to see someone lounging on the bridge railing overlooking the bow.

"Admiral Hipper!" I shouted up at the figure, seeing them flinch and sit up to look at me, "I need to speak with you!"

"And what can I do for the Vice Admiral's daughter?" The man that had brought me safely to America responded with a snarl, jumping down from the bridge and landing safely on the deck just over thirty feet below. He stalked towards where the walkway had been pulled back, a light scowl on his face as he reached up and settled the black beanie on his head from the jump, "Last I checked, you weren't going to have anything to do with me ever again."

"What?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I never said that, Hipper."

"That's what I was told by the men who boarded me. I've had enough with the backstabbing and closed off access," He crossed his arms over his chest as he jumped onto the side railing of the deck, staring down at me from across the twenty foot gap, "Or is that why you're here, to get me to let more humans aboard just because I was generous with you?"

"Neither of those. We have a job!" I leaned against the pier railing, pointing towards the watertight door at the top of the sloped lift, "I claimed you as my ship and, last I checked, you trusted me with command."

My words caused his sour expression to fall into realization before he narrowed his eyes, "And why should I trust you?"

"If you trusted me with command, then that means I'm something akin to a captain in your eyes...and the captain always keeps the best interest of their ship in mind."

Hipper's suspicion fell away before the walkway extended over the gap, allowing me to board. His normally dark eyes had a bright tint of pink in them as he watched me cross over and step onto the deck of the Admiral Hipper.

"Then what are your orders, captain?"

I informed Hipper of what was going on while I made my way up to the bridge of the heavy cruiser, watching as recognition flashed in his eyes as he looked up towards the watertight dock doors. Not even a second later, alarms were blaring as the platform began to move up the slope as I held on to the stair handrails to keep from falling over, the sudden movement throwing me off balance.

"What's gotten into you?" I looked up to the man as he helped me into the bridge, closing the door behind me and moving out to his usual spot.

"I know who the Fog ship is and I know what he's here for," The wind tugged at the hair peeking out beneath his beanie, the end of his black scarf shifting against his back as the tan cardigan billowed out slightly with the breeze.

"Care to fill me in so I can radio the others?" Moving towards where I thought the communication station was, I held on as the platform stopped in the lock area, the watertight doors closing behind the warship at the same time.

"It's one of the destroyers I had spoken to about evacuating the Scapa Flow fleet for a little while," The man peered over the ceiling edge of the bridge, the beanie slipping off before he caught it without looking, "Why would the American Defense Fleet be worried about a destroyer that isn't attacking?"

I stared at him with a dumbfounded look, watching his thought process connect the dots as his lips formed an 'oh' shape, "Right...Fleet of Fog."

"I'll inform the command center of what's going on," I resisted rolling my eyes as I switched my focus from the man looking at me upside down to the communications console, hesitantly picking up the radio transponder and vaguely recalling the frequency they operated on, "This is the Admiral Hipper to ADF, do you copy?"