The Lone Queen Of The North

Chapter 1: Anchors Aweigh!

            Shortly after picking up her new captain, the Tirpitz sailed towards the German port, Kiel. Upon entering the port's vicinity, many coastal batteries took aim and fired upon the ship. Michael ordered that no retaliation would be necessary, only the usage of EMPs as a defensive measure was authorized.

          When the ship was assaulted once more by the coastal defences, she fired EMP missiles that temporarily disabled the defences. Within the ship's conning tower, the new captain, Michael sat in a chair with a console in front of him. On that console, he was able to keep track of the Tirpitz's progress as well as armament and engine statuses. He looked up suddenly just as the port came into view. This caused him to stand up, exit the bridge and step out onto the deck.

         The captain walked over to the starboard side and watched as tanks and heavily armed soldiers began piling into the port. A lone chopper was hovering nearby, taking aim at the potentially hostile battleship. Michael took all of this into his mind and began analyzing the information. He wondered how he'd reveal himself, how he'd reveal Tirpitz, the Mental Model.

        Just as he was thinking of her, said Mental Model appeared suddenly and stood beside her captain.

       "It seems the Bundeswerh has established itself in the port. What should we do, captain?"

        "Dock normally per the plan," Michael said, "and refrain from attacking the troops. You'll also come with me, just in case."

        "I understand."

         Tirpitz went silent as her main ship body activated its portside thrusters. The ship then slowly came to a halt as they had reached their destination.

         Down on the docks, tension was high, many of the soldiers were sweating heavily for they knew what sort of power the Fog wields. Each of the men and women among the ranks held their rifles tight in anticipation, their breathing being the only sound to be heard. They suddenly brought their weapons up with swiftness when a holographic, hexagonal path appeared, leading from the ship's deck to the dock.

        The soldiers thought they'd seen everything until they saw a man, clad in the Navy's uniform, walking down the holographic path. The man was quickly followed by a tall, young woman with long black hair, electric blue eyes and a large bust. The young girl walked up to the man as if to ask something. The naval officer looked at the girl, shaking his head in response to whatever question she had asked.

         The German army was about to send an officer to approach the duo from the ship, however the newcomers had already beaten the army to the punch.

         "May I know who the commanding officer is?" The man said in perfect German.

         At first, the soldiers shuffled uneasily, but eventually made way as Major Heinz Lundewig stepped forward to answer the call.

        "I am the commanding officer of the 22nd Infanterie Division," the major said, "my name is Heinz Lundewig. May I know who you and that girl are?"

        "I would gladly answer your questions," the captain replied, "however, I'd rather do it where we don't have weapons pointed at each other..."

        The major took it into consideration, then he raised his hand, signalling the soldiers to drop their weapons.

         "Now that we've put our guns down, let's get to business," the major said with a huff.

         "Very well," the captain said, "My name is Michael Schmidt, a member in the Marine. My crew and I were deployed aboard the experimental Type-93. We were attacked by a Fog destroyer and our ship sunk, leaving no damage on the Fog. I was the only survivor, to my knowledge at least."

           Heinz grew suspicious, however, he concealed it well. He gestured to Michael to continue his explanations.

         "I had fallen unconscious, so I don't recall any of the events after the attack, but when I woke up, I found myself on the deck of the Tirpitz, the battleship behind me. The girl beside me is her Mental Model. If you want to know more, ask her yourself."

          Heinz fell deep into thought, then gestured to the towering battleship:

         "May we come aboard, captain?"

*Timeskip

          The infantry division, after having explored the entirety of the ship, had expressions of awe. Though, another captain, this time being part of the infantry division, was skeptical. When she and the major we're alone, she asked him.

         "Sir," she began, "don't you think that this is a coincidence?"

         "What do you mean?" Heinz asked.

         "I mean the fact that the Japanese have that 'Blue Steel' submarine of theirs, after having been spotted sitting in Yokosuka, not doing anything."

         "Perhaps it is, captain, but I'm not one to judge, I have plenty of other things to worry about since the Russians are coming in hot. Remember; this port is an important strategic zone, if we lose it, we lose our connection to the Baltic. However, if we announce that we have a Fog battleship at our disposal, they just might pull away."

         The captain, satisfied with the answer, walked away and joined the other soldiers. Heinz stood by himself for a minute, and joined his soldiers with one thought in mind: the survival of Germany. The major later spoke with Michael as the division disembarked the Tirpitz, telling him to stay in port to allow the supplying of food for a total crew of twelve; the captain, first mate, gunnery officer (main batteries), gunnery officer (secondary batteries, torpedoes, missiles) (x2), sonar/radar operator, engineer (x3), medic, chef.

         Michael, in the meantime, was well aware that he'd be joined by more crew members, so he decided to make a roster of "Persons of Interest". He was accompanied by Tirpitz whom insisted that he shouldn't be doing the listing alone, so with her help, Michael was able to browse and select the crew roster from the naval academy.

          At the end of it all, he sat at his desk, a feeling of satisfaction filling his heart. His plans were starting to come together at long last...