7 December 1941
Location: The Pacific Ocean, 220 km southeast of Pearl Harbour Naval Base.
Time: 0900
On board a battlecruiser around the center of the Royal Navy Fleet, a large feast was underway. The once-tense atmosphere had transformed into one of laughter and cheer. At one of the tables, a girl in a silvery white dress was working on her tenth round of food. This girl was, of course, Mo.
"It's good that you weren't stumbled upon even a word in your speech, but let me remind you, this is your tenth plate," remarked Howe with a mix of amazement and amusement.
"Sorry, Howe. I didn't expect food to be this tasty!" Mo replied, her eyes glistening with tears of joy.
"Come on, at least try to maintain some decorum," Howe sighed, gently wiping the sauce from Mo's cheek.
"Hiks, I'm glad I'm now a kansen," Mo cried, stuffing a tomahawk steak into her mouth.
"Yeah.. yeah.. you deserved it. Just be careful not to overdo it, you wouldn't want to get fat," Howe teased with a smirk.
"Eh!? Can Kansen get fat?" Mo asked, suddenly alarmed, her gaze locked on Howe.
"Yeah, Suffolk used to be lean, you know? look at her now," Howe said, nodding towards Suffolk, who was busy clearing plates. Mo quickly pushed her own plate away, she had taken a liking to the dress she wore, she did not want to get fat.
"Relax, I'm just kidding," Howe chuckled softly.
Between Howe's chuckles and Mo's embarrassment, neither noticed someone approaching their table.
"Howe, let Miss Monsoor enjoy her feast. But you really do have a healthy appetite, Miss Monsoor," came a serene voice from behind them.
Both girls straightened up immediately, turning to face the newcomer. Mo's response was somewhat comical, as steak sauce still smeared her cheek.
"Uh.. sister, can you show up just like any other normal person does?" Howe was exasperated.
"Umm H-hello," greeted Mo awkwardly. Mo then looked at the person Howe called sister from top to bottom. The person had beautiful long cherry-colored hair and wore a red military dress similar to Howe. Her graceful mannerisms screamed elegance from every angle you looked at her. But one unique thing about this person was that she had pointed ears like an elf.
"Mo, this is my sister, HMS Duke of York. You haven't met her yet because she's on the other side of the formation. And Sister, this is USS Michael Monsoor, the one who put on the fireworks display earlier," said Howe, introducing them both.
"Sure, nice to meet you, the fireworks performer from another world," York giggled. "But tell me, Miss Monsoor, are you still hungry?"" asked York.
"Ah, nice to meet you too.. and, well, yes, somehow I feel I could eat five more of these courses quite easily," Mo admitted, looking down shyly.
"No wonder. Do you know that we kansens replenish our ammunition with the food we eat? Given your 'fireworks' display earlier, you must have burned through quite a bit," York observed.
"Yes, actually.." muttered Mo with a questioning look. Eighty Mk.57 VLS launched eighty Tomahawks and one AUR VLS launched one Dark Eagle Hypersonic Missile, if all of those converted to US Dollars, the number was astronomical.
"Umm, Miss York, how much does a kansen usually eat after an intense battle?" Mo asked, curiosity piqued.
"For me, after emptying both my smaller and main calibers, I usually eat two, maybe three plates of what you're having," said York with a guessing look.
Oh, this could be a problem. If a battleship only eats that much after emptying every last bit of her ammunition, that means, the intake to compensate for missiles is far above gun shells. Maybe it correlates with the cost to manufacture the ammunition? If so, is it using this year's exchange rate or the year I came from? And how about the inflation!? I wonder how much food I need to eat until I am fully resupplied. Well, I like the food, but I am worried about the Royal Navy's food stockpile, thought Mo.
"Mo, you don't need to worry about your food. This is your feast after all, so eat as much as you want," said Howe reassuringly.
"That's right. Enjoy yourself. I'm sure Her Majesty won't mind. Besides," York added with a subtle smile, "I'm curious about the taste of blood from another world," said York, licking her lips subtly. Mo could see York's pupils turned red for a split second.
"Sister, please stop your vampire roleplay. Look at Mo, you're scaring her! Also, you don't even like blood, you remember one time you tried to drink it and you vomited it instantly? That was a mess, you know!?" Howe sternly scolded her sister.
"Come on, dear little sister, no need to air my embarrassing moments in front of our guest," said York awkwardly.
"Well, serve you right!" huffed Howe as she tilted her head away, clearly unimpressed.
"Hahaha!" Looking at the sisters' interaction, Mo laughed wholeheartedly. "Sorry, Howe, Miss York, I couldn't hold myself," apologized Mo as she held her belly.
Both sisters turned to her and soon joined in the laughter.
"You're my sister's friend, so please, just call me York. Also, I think it's already time for me to head back to my ship, alone without my adorable younger sister," teased York, her expression theatrically sad.
"Please just go already, and don't drink too much wine. You're on guard duty, remember?" said Howe, scolding her sister once again.
"Oh my, thanks for the reminder. My sister is such a hard worker, isn't she? Are you trying to impress your new friend? How cute, well, see you later," said York as she waltzed away from Mo's table.
"Don't listen to her, she's such a tease," said Howe, hiding her embarrassment.
"Well, I don't mind though, I also have sisters of my own," said Mo as she was thinking about her sisters. She missed them dearly, being separated by worlds with no clear way to reunite, but the warm reception from the Royal Navy kansens helped her cope with this strange new world.
"Also, thank you, Howe," thanked Mo sincerely.
"What's with the sudden gratitude? Are you still hungry?" Howe asked, confused.
"Yeah, umm, can I have another serving?" asked Mo to the nearest maid.
"Certainly, Lady Monsoor," the maid replied with a smile.
The feast continued for several hours. Every kansen in the fleet enjoyed themselves, chatting, singing, eating, drinking, and dancing. Even the maids joined in the fun, though they had to attend to their duties as well. The merriment was such that no one noticed when they arrived at Pearl Harbor.
"Alright, Ladies. We are about to arrive at our new base. From now on, you will be stationed here until I or the Commander says otherwise. Do your duty to the fullest and uphold the standards of the Royal Navy. The base seems to have taken some damage from the attack, so after you settle in, assist the other kansens with the cleanup. That's all. You may return to your ships for now," announced Queen Elizabeth to the kansens on the feast.
"As for you, Monsoor, follow me to meet the Commander," added Queen Elizabeth to Mo especially.
"Yes, Your Majesty," said Mo as she thought,
Now now, let's see this 'Commander'. He should be the only human in this base, right? I'm intrigued..
After exchanging farewell with Howe, Mo arrived at her ship. She checked her VLS, making sure they were not breaking after the simultaneous launch. Fortunately, every part of her ship was green and uncompromised. Even her missile stockpile showed near full capacity. The sixteen courses of steak and vegetables had done their job well. Mo went to the galley to check the refrigerators, but they were empty. She then made her way to the bridge, preparing to dock.
It was then that she heard a soft flapping sound coming from the chair to her left. Mo stared at the chair, which was facing away from her, concealing whatever was making the noise. She attempted to scan the bridge, but her scan showed nothing unusual. With no other options, Mo cautiously approached the chair and turned it around, revealing a sleeping black eagle.
"Captain never allows pets on board, right? How did you get here?" Mo asked rhetorically as she gently petted the eagle's head.
The eagle woke up, letting out a pleased shriek and flapping its wings. It seemed almost as if the bird had been waiting for her. Mo felt a strange connection with the eagle, as though she could understand its thoughts and it could understand hers. But rather than being disturbed by this connection, Mo found it comforting.
"So, who are you, Mr. Eagle?" she asked softly.
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