Ironblood's Helmsman

Chapter 31: Sea Shepherd

General POV

After Andy's discharge the Battlecruiser felt.....really fucking stiff in the joints and was a little rusty with his fighting. So he needed a good, long, but uneventful and rather peaceful stretch of his engines, luckily Alex stumbled upon a clipping. Apparently Sea Shepherd a Non-Profit Conservation Group had an upcoming operation heading to Antarctica to stop toothfish poachers and see what they could do against the Sakura Empire's Illegal Whaling Fleet.

They needed an extra ship to help the Ocean Warrior and the Allankay as they didn't the Bridgette Bardot, the Steve Irwin, the Bob Barker, or the Sam Simon to help them out anymore with the Bardot being sold to someone else, the Barker in line to be scrapped, the Irwin being used for spare parts, and the Simon in the process of being retired. Alex thought back to he knew of Andy, he knew that the Filipino supported the group, was an avid watcher of 'Whale Wars' from way before the Bob Barker was even introduced to the series, and he did have a soft spot for Marine Mammals.

Alex: "Well, guess Andy's getting a few things ticked off his bucket list." he said, typing something down into the computer.

A few hours later Andy was called to the briefing room.

Andy: "Um....you called dad?" he asked.

Alex: "Yeah, it's come to my attention that you need to stretch your legs." he said.

Andy: "Yeah....I'm fine though..." he said.

Alex: "No, you're not, you're not ready for combat and if you don't stretch you're not gonna fight too well." he stated, "Which is why I've signed you up as the third ship of an expedition.....a conservationist expedition."

Andy: "Wait...you mean it?" he asked, receiving a nod from Alex.

Alex: "You're heading down to Australia for preparations in 2 days, Spee's going with ya." he said, "I trust you're familiar with the faces you're gonna meet."

Andy: "Yes sir! Hope they'll have me." he said.

Alex: "Trust me son, they will." he said, "Your ship's being fitted with retractable Water Canons on your bow and stern, be ready."

Andy: "Yes sir! Thank you sir!" he saluted, "I assume Logan's taking command while I'm gone."

Alex: "Yup, let's hope we get through the year or so without ya." he said.

Andy gave Alex a hug of thanks before departing to pack his things and cuddle with Spee for a bit.

A few days later Andy and Spee departed from the Wall flying the unique Jolly Roger insignia of Sea Shepherd.

Andy: "Alright..." he said, stretching a little, "time for a sprint."

Andy picked up his radio and hailed Spee.

Andy: "Hey hun, how fast can you go?" he asked.

Graf Spee: "Flat out? 28 knots...why?" she asked.

Andy: "Wanna race? See how fast I can push myself?" he asked, a competitive grin on his face.

Graf Spee: "Well....I dunno, maybe we can have a nice leisurely cruise to enjoy each other's- GO!!" she yelled suddenly.

Spee gunned her engines and roared forward.

Andy: "Oi! Oh, you're lucky I love ya." he said with a small chuckle as he gunned his engines, "GET BACK HERE WOMAN!!"

Graf Spee: "Come catch me hun!~" she teasingly yelled back.

The laughing couple raced each other to Australia. Of course it was then that Andy's limitations were found, his engines were barely able to push his hull to 19 knots.