Legends - LadyPearl - 艦隊これくしょん (2024)

Chapter 1: Prologue~ A Thousand Knives

Chapter Text

"The water stung like a thousand knives tearing into the body." ~ Charles Lightoller, Second Officer

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"Help us! Someone help us!"

"Please, let someone come..."

"Just save one life!"

The voices, hundreds, perhaps a thousand, all cried out in unison. Their desperate pleas sounded across the clear night, echoing through the water in an eerie chorus. A chorus that struck the hearts of the ship gods and one ship in particular...

"I can't come back. I failed."

"Someone come help us!"

"I cannot!" A rumble shook her shattered hull, a sound that could be heard 2.5 miles above. She had done the best she could. She had carried them 3/4 of the way across the ocean when the icy beast had struck her, stripping her of her maiden virtues. She lasted nearly thrice as long as her designer had predicted. He had said one hour, she had floated for nearly 3! She had done everything she could!

Then, she remembered something Olympic had said to her, when they were born side by side in Belfast almost a year ago.

"A ship's first and only duty is to her people. Without them, there is no ship."

Her resistance began to falter and she felt her downward motion stall. Now that she had made her choice, reemergence was inevitable.

A redheaded girl broke the surface with a splash lost amongst the 1500 others struggling for survival in the water around her. The girl coughed, spitting up brine and blindly grabbed for the object nearest to her, a broken chair. Then her eyes opened, reveling them to be a deep green. She was in evening dress like her passengers, wearing a simple midnight blue gown, her bear feet treading the deep ocean around her as she trusted her existence to the strength of her arms.

Wiping her mouth with her wrist she noticed how silent it had become. A far cry from the panicked cries that had summoned her just minutes before. Death surrounded her on all sides. She could see it in the countless bodies drifting around her, held up by their white life vests. A pair of men both gripping flotsam like her, a woman with her dog, the animal frozen in the last struggle to free itself from its dead master, all pale, eyes slightless. One might almost mistake them for life size dolls. The culprit for their untimely and sudden demise was all around them. The girl could feel it. The 28 degree water felt like a thousand knives all poking into her body at once. For a human, it was unbearable. For a newborn kanmusu, just barely within the comfort zone.

Then a voice, rising above the silents like an eerie wail.

"Is anyone alive out there?! Can anyone hear me?!"

"H-here... I'm over here." The girl croaked, struggling to make use of her newfound voice. She gathered her strength. "I'M HERE! I'M ALIVE, I'M HERE!!"

A light shined into her face and she squinted her eyes against it. The relief was the first thing she felt as she was hauled into Boat 14. Then the crushing sadness. The agony of a kind that only a kanmusu could feel. The kind that comes from knowing your people are dead. She didn't attempt to stifle her tears.

A blanket was wrapped around her. "What's your name miss?"

Startled, she was momentarily lost for words and slowly looked up at the speaker. She recognized him as her fifth officer.

"Such a good man." She thought. Then she realized she hadn't answered him yet. Just as he was turning away she said "T-Ti-Tiffany." It was the best she could come up with on such short notice. No one could know her real name. She wasn't even sure she wanted to know her real name anymore.

In all, just six people were pulled from the water alive that night, Tiffany among them. Tiffany spent the time drifting before Carpathia arrived helping everyone within sight, going so far as to give up her own blanket to a child. Her actions that night were cause for people to take notice and for many years afterwards they shared stories of the kind woman with skin as pale as the dead and eyes as green as the Irish moors. Many wished to thank her for undoubtedly her actions had saved lives but they never could for shortly after arriving in New York, she disappeared. People tried to track her down but it was like the woman known simply as Tiffany had never existed. Eventually the stories were dismissed as hallucinations or post-disaster metaphors but they still remained, confined within the tight knit circle of family and relatives. Until one day, a war 100 years later would bring them back into the masses' eye.

Chapter 2: Chapter 1~ Never Dispar

Chapter Text

Dauntless was a Type-45 destroyer, tough, sturdy and always willing to take up a challenge. But this had to be the most formidable challenge she'd ever faced. Her duties consisted of the standard patrolling of the isles, maybe the occasional stint or two in the pirate filled waters off Africa's northwestern coast when her tour came up in NATO's roster. But then, a few years ago, everything changed. When they came. Those, foul loathsome creatures that mankind dubbed Abyssals. Named for the Abyss from which they had risen. Dauntless, like so many others in the Royal Navy, was called up for immediate service against this new threat. Several of her sisters had met their fates in such battles, putting up a fight to the last. Now it was Dauntless' turn to put of a brave fight.

Outnumbered 3 to 1 by a pair of Abyssal battlecruisers and a large destroyer escort, the Daring-class could only buy time for the precious merchant ships under her command to escape through the bottleneck of the Channel and reach open waters to send their much needed supplies to Asia. In command of this relatively young vessel was Commander Tegan Sheera. Irish by birth, the 35 year old had risen rapidly through the ranks to become a Commander after just 4 short years in the service of Her Majesties Navy. Standing 5'11" the nearly 6 foot tall woman cut an imposing figure with her broad shoulders, athletically built frame and with flaming red hair that reflected her temper. A pair of intense green eyes completed the picture. Dressed in her Commander's uniform, she looked every bit the part of a regal ship's captain.

"Lieutenant Hawk, course and speed of the enemy if you please?" She asked in a calm voice that betrayed nothing. No fear or excitement of the upcoming battle. Just a cool, calm, confidence as she was trained. As they all were trained.

Her second in command relayed the numbers with the same coolness. "Course 110 degrees, speed 22 knots."

"Bearing?"

"Due South ma'am. 180 degrees."

"Adjust weapons accordingly."

"Aye ma'am." Picking up his well placed handset radio, Hawk called down to the weapon's center, located deep within the ship. "TAO target now at 180 degrees, speed 22 knots, distance 10 miles."

The new information was fed into the FCC and below decks the yet to be deployed missile launchers snuggled within their cylos. Though she couldn't see it, Commander Sheera knew that the pair of Aster 15's in the launchers were receiving this new information, their highly sophisticated software automatically adjusting their assumed course to the target upon launch.

Commander Sheera winced as one of the battlecruisers' shells straddled her smaller ship. They'd discovered this particular group 3 hours ago at almost 30 miles distant and had been closing the gap sense. Knowing the slow merchants could never outrun a pair of what she believed were Admiral-class battlecruisers along with an Edsel-class destroyer escort, Dauntless was being used as a sacrificial lamb. Her captain had attempted to waste as much time as possible to allow the convoy the time they needed to escape. Dauntless had been lucky so far, taking just 3 direct hits and all to her superstructure. Effective maneuvering had spared her hull serious damage, so far. But the closer they got, the more likely a serious hit was to be. But Commander Sheera would not fire a return shot unless she was certain all would make their mark. The Aster missile was a highly effective weapon but when deployed against Abyssals, it would hit everything but the target it was asked to strike. By closing the distance, Commander Sheera hoped to eliminate that problem, or somewhat limit it at least.

"Distance 8 miles and closing ma'am." The Navigator called out.

"Copy Lieutenant. Lieutenant Hawk, call the Weapon's Officer and have him stand by weapon's release on my command." Commander Sheera ordered.

"Aye ma'am. WepOps, stand by to fire on Captain's authority."

"5 miles ma'am. Course now 100, they're turning towards us."

"Hard right rudder, course 100. Weapons release!" Commander Sheera barked.

"All weapons fire!"

Dauntless shuddered as the Asters were released from their confines below deck. Two at a time. Dauntless was one of the last ships to carry the weapon. The Royal Navy had cut the funding for the missiles leaving the vessels they had in service with just what they had below decks. Conservation had allowed Dauntless to hang on to 20 of her 48 Sea Viper weapons but conservation was the last thing on Commander Sheera's mind now. She would launch every single weapon she had against those hell ships! Her ship would go down with not a single round of ammunition left in her magazines. Dauntless' single 4.5 inch deck gun spoke in anger for the first time in her career. She had never been this close to an Abyssal to fire it before. Empty shell casings pounded the deck, bouncing once, sometimes twice, before their momentum carried them into the sea.

"Radio the Wildcat, tell them to launch their harpoons and leave the area to find a field to land on."

Equipped to carry up to 2 Lynx Wildcats, Dauntless' other bird had been shot down in an earlier confrontation so now she had the just one. And armed with 4 anti-ship missiles it would be the death kneel for the Abyssal destroyer escort.

Miraculously, all four missiles found their mark. With little to no armor to stop their incredible momentum, the missiles penetrated deep below decks and with a flash of an exploding magazine, the destroyer became no longer a factor in this conflict. Commander Sheera did not allow herself to proclaim victory. She still had the battlecruisers to contend with and they were proving far more difficult to destroy. Most of the missiles that were launched did what their predecessors had done when facing an Abyssal, diving harmlessly into the sea or if they did strike a hit, they did so in a non critical area of the ship. Dauntless was not nearly as fortunate. Lacking the protective armor of a battleship and no longer weaving to avoid shellfire, her hull took numerous hits. Damage control parties scrambled to contain the flooding but there was only so much they could do. Dauntless fired one last, defiant salvo at the leading battlecruiser before her weapons went silent. Now dead in the water with all her ammunition used, she was a sitting duck. The Abyssals moved in for the kill but that's when Commander Sheera sprang her trap.

Hours earlier she had set a majority of the crew off in lifeboats when Dauntless was still well outside the range of the Abyssal's weapons. With just a skeleton crew to run the ship, they had set about planting charges along her hull. Timed to go off at just the right instant. Quietly, the remaining crewmen slipped off the lee side of their vessel in the last lifeboat.

Commander Sheera was the last person to leave the ship. Stepping out onto the lee bridgewing, she put a hand to the blackened charred steel that had taken a hit meant for the lookout behind it.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Before she stepped off the bridge for the last time she swore she heard in reply "Never Despair. For Queen and Country!"

Dauntless was the last ship lost before the arrival of the kanmusu in the British fleet a month later. Among them, was one of the same ships whose Abyssal counterpart had sunk the destroyer, HMS Hood.

Chapter 3: Chapter 2~ TransAtlantic

Summary:

Tegran crosses the Atlantic and gets some unexpected ribbing from her host.

Chapter Text

Two months after the loss of Dauntless, Sheera and her senior officers were subject to a court martial. Standard procedure following any ship's sinking, it normally occurred immediately following such an event. However wartime conditions meant that the brass's attention was focused primarily on other things, causing for some delay. Fortunately, those same wartime conditions meant that the grilling from the brass was far less severe than what it could be during peacetime. At least negligence was not considered a possible cause. That didn't mean the grilling was any less unpleasant. Thankfully, the proceedings were relatively quick and Sheera and her crew were praised for their efforts.

"Commander Tegran Olympic Sheera, on the charge and specification of inadequate defense of the United Kingdom, not guilty. On the charge and specification of conduct unbecoming of an officer in the royal navy and on the charge of cowardice, not guilty. On the charge and specification of willful endangerment and loss of Royal Navy property, guilty. Are you ready to hear sentencing?"

Sheera took her gaze off Admiral Briggs and focused on Admiral Halton who sat at the center of a panel of admirals. Halton was the Royal Navy's Commander of Operations. If ever there was a god in the Navy, he was it. Sheera swallowed back any apprehension she might've felt, ensuring her features remained as schooled as would be expected of an officer in Her Majesty's Navy. "Yes sir, we are." She replied.

"This court offers no sentence and praises the crew and officers of HMS Dauntless for their unmatched bravery in the face of overwhelming enemy assault. Commander Sheera, for your actions you are hereby promoted to the rank of Captain. With all the rights and privileges hereto afforded that rank. Each of your bridge crew will also receive a promotion of one rank and all the men and woman of the Dauntless shall receive the Victoria Cross."

"Sir, thank you sir." Sheera's face flushed with emotion and she knew without looking that her officers were doing the same. To receive Great Britain's highest military award was the equivalent of becoming a Medal of Honor recipient. It was an award that carried with it not just the honor and prestige but also a great deal of pride. Because like the American's Medal of Honor, one could only earn such an award. And that made the gift all the more precious.

"Captain Sheera, you will report to Admiral Holloway for further orders. The officers and men of the HMS Dauntless shall be redistributed according to the Admiralty's needs. This court is adjourned."

As the court emptied, Sheera made her way over to her commanding officer. "Captain Sheera reporting as ordered sir." She said, feeling a flush of pride at stating her new rank for the first time.

Holloway's eyes held a friendly twinkle to them. "Congratulations are most certainly in order, captain. Just don't let your new rank go too far into your head."

"No sir, absolutely not sir." She replied.

"Come with me."

Sheera followed Holloway into his office. Hood was there, delivering the Admiral's latest batch of intelligence reports. She stood at attention when he entered. "Admiral, the latest reports from Italy sir."

"Thank you Commander. Now if you will excuse us, the Captain and I have a few things we need to discuss." Holloway said.

"Captain?" Hood wondered, looking at Sheera. Then her blue eyes widened and she smiled. "The court martial went well then I take it."

"The brass couldn't find enough words to praise me." Sheera replied.

Hood's expression told Sheera that a. this tidbit of news would be all over the base within the hour. and b. Hood would be vigorously and ruthlessly seeking her out for details until she got them. But now was neither the time or the place and they both knew it. The battlecruiser left with a respectful nod at Sheera.

Sheera stood firmly at attention as she faced Admiral Holloway. In the months following Dauntless' sinking, she had been assigned to the kanmusu base at Portsmouth as the Admiral's XO. Court martial aside, the lack of interference from the brass meant she was able to be all that more effective in her duties. Her actions earned her instant respect from the shipgirls but it was also her actions that had earned her their love. "Which is why," Holloway thought with a sigh. "That this meeting is going to be so hard."

"Our American friends are only just beginning to receive kanmusu of their own and no one on either side of the pond can match your experience. You will report in at Joint Base at Lakehurst as an ambassador and assist in summoning wherever possible."

"You're giving me to the Americans sir?" Sheera didn't have a problem with going to the states. She'd been to America many times and was more used to the 'boisterous loudness' that was often associated with her Yank cousins.

"Yes. America has a penchant for turning things around quite quickly. All they need is the final clue to the puzzle."

"You believe they can summon kanmusu of their own sir?" She asked.

"I hope they can. This whole nation does. We just might need, no we will need their kanmusu to save our skins a third time." He said.

"I'll do my best sir." She promised.

"Transportation has been secured, and since we all know of your dislike for airplanes you'll be sailing to Halifax on the Queen Mary 2."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir."

He handed her a packet. "She leaves tonight. I suggest you go and back your things."

"Aye sir."

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Sheera leaned against the rail, allowing her upper body to lean forward into the wind passage generated by the Queen Mary 2's movements. The salty breeze stung her cheeks and made her her hair clump and knot together in large strands that would be a nightmare to brush out later. But she didn't care. This was the open ocean, this was her home.

She didn't hear anyone approach but that didn't matter. She sensed the girl behind her and sighed. "Are we alone?" She asked quietly but she knew the other girl could her her just fine.

"It we weren't would I be here?"

Sheera turned around, still leaning back against the railing and faced the kanmusu. Since the appearance of shipgirls, captains and crews had been quick to catch on and subsequently see their own ship's spirits. It was quite the interesting experience. Amusing too sometimes. She had been there when Captain Osprey had seen his girl for the first time. The memory still brought forth a smile. Not right now though.

"What do you want Mary?" She sighed.

The ship's kanmusu stood beside her. "To talk."

"No, you're going to ask me, again." Sheera shifted her position so she was leaning on the railing with just one hand. "And my answer is going to be no, again!" She started to walk away.

"How long are you going to live in denial Tegran Sheera? Or should I say Tiffany Andrews." Mary smirked as Sheera stiffened and whirled around to glare at her, her green eyes ablaze.

"That was a long time ago!" She hissed. "Long before your namesake even sailed. So why should you care?"

"Because it's who you are. And no amount of name changing can hide that." Mary replied. "No matter how hard you try to forget."

"You think I can forget?" Sheera asked. "Not a day goes by I don't think about that night. That I don't dream about it. It's always with me. Even if my true self isn't."

"You can't hide the truth forever, Tegran. Because one day, this war is going to bring it out of you. One day, you're going to have to fight."

Sheera paused. "I've fought well enough as a human, thank you." And with that, she twirled on her heel and left, shoving past Mary who mostly stepped aside. Her 150000 tons was an easy match for Sheera's 45000 but she had no desire to stop the stubborn redhead. Sheera couldn't be reasoned with anyways in her current fuming state.

As she stormed off to her room Mary watched her with eyes that only a kanmusu could have. She would deny anyone watching that she was staring at the Commander's well refined stern but Sheera had lovely lines and Mary had eyes. It was that simple. If only other matters would go down as easily.

Chapter 4: Chapter 3~ Cruel is a Matter of Perspective

Summary:

Tegran does some soul searching

Chapter Text

May 31, 1921
RMS Olympic, Mid-North Atlantic

The woman sitting alone at the barstool was unseen and unnoticed by the people milling about. All of them first class passengers, all extremely wealthy, all lacking a crucial sight. Except for one. She was extremely wealthy, the result of marrying a rich husband who died in the war. The wealthy widow, who only looked to be in her late teens, bore a striking resemblance to the woman currently occupying a seat at the bar. Both had pale skin. Both had flaming red hair. Both were equal in build and height. Passengers who wanted a drink subconsciously avoided the spot she was sitting at, even if they didn't know why. But Tiffany knew. She knew exactly because unlike her fellow passengers, she could see the woman. The woman who was not just her sister, but her twin. Olympic herself.

Olympic's spirit was eyeing the bottles behind the barman with a bit of longing. She didn't dare touch one, not while people were still about and would freak at the sight of a liquor bottle seemingly floating in mid-air. It may've been the 20th century, but on board a ship, there was always a level of superstition present. Tiffany, dressed in an evening gown, waited and watched, conversing with anyone who came her way. Until they had all either retired to bed or wondered into the smoking rooms. Now only Olympic and the barman remained.

"Something catch your fancy miss?" He asked Tiffany as she sat down at the stool beside Olympic. She deliberately avoided looking at her, so as not to alarm and scare away the spirit before they had a chance to talk. "2 glasses of Irish whiskey please." She replied. As the barman gave her the glasses she shooed him off. "Now go make yourself useful somewhere else. If I want another, I'll get it myself. Go on now, shoo!" The barman, like any trained White Star steward, knew better than to argue with a wealthy woman of society and quickly fled leaving the bar empty besides the two woman. Tiffany's chance at at last come. Taking a sip off one of the glasses, she grabbed the other and pushed it slowly with her knuckles until it bumped against Olympic's right hand. The kanmusu half reeled back in shock at the sudden touch, seemingly unaware of the woman who had parked herself beside her. A woman who was now staring right at her and it was almost like looking into a mirror.

"Hello again, Oly." Tiffany's warm smile did nothing to relax Olympic, who looked like a coiled spring, ready to pounce.

"Don't call me that." Olympic snapped, more out of reflex than anything else. Her blue eyes were wide as reality caught up to her. From her perspective, a passenger speaking to her should have been impossible. "Wait, you can see me?!"

"Most certainly can." Tiffany replied, "You down in your cups?" She asked, keeping herself relaxed in the hopes that her calm attitude would wear off on her twin. It started to work and Olympic accepted the whiskey, taking a generous gulp and emptying half the glass.

"You might say that." Olympic replied.

"Care to tell me why?" Tiffany's question was only half rhetorical. She knew she herself was the cause but she needed to hear Olympic's thought process. That would give her a better indication of where her twin was at mentally. And that would help Tiffany work with her better.

"Shouldn't you know? Everyone else knows." Olympic sniffed.

"Do they? I thought humans weren't aware of ship spirits." Tiffany pointed out.

"You can see me."

"Ah, but who ever said I was human."

Olympic looked at her more closely for that and Tiffany cut her off before she could ask. "You give me my answer, and I'll explain my existence the best I can." She said.

"You drive a hard bargain. Get me another glass and you've got a deal." Olympic said, draining back the last of her whiskey.

"I'll get you the bottle. Trust me, you'll need it before we're done here." Tiffany said, standing up to go around behind the counter for the bottle. As she did so, Olympic began her story.

"I'm assuming you know that I'm this ship's spirit so I'll make this simple. It's about my sister."

"Which sister? You have two." Tiffany said.

"I had two." Olympic corrected her, blue eyes flashing with a hidden pain. "It's the elder I think about today."

"Ah yes, May 31. Silly of me to forget." Tiffany said, keeping her tone light. Olympic was not amused but continued nonetheless. The refilling of her glass acted as a peace offering and she drained it before she went back to talking. "I'm sure you know Titanic's story so I shant go into details about her loss."

"Where were you that night?" Tiffany hadn't meant to ask the question. She certainly hadn't meant for it to come across as accusing. But it was too late to take it back.

Olympic's eyes once again showed that hidden pain, but it was deeper this time. Something that had scarred her very soul. "I, came as soon as I heard." She began weakly. "I tried to close the distance. I offered to take those who survived as well once I heard it was too late..."

"I'll tell you where you were." Tiffany said, knocking back her own glass. Seeing the agony in Olympic's blue eyes brought up a side of the human kanmusu that she had forgotten existed. The desire to help her sister, to destroy that agony, pound it into dust and consign it to the hell where it belonged, was too strong for her to ignore. Olympic had become caught up in her own disillusions of guilt, and Tiffany had to shatter those disillusions before they destroyed the one ship she loved the most.

"You, were too. bloody. far. Too bloody far away to be useful in any sort of rescue. However your voice, was a great source of comfort that night." Tiffany sighed as she allowed herself to remember. Above the chaos of the panicked cries and the confused calls of other ship unable to accept reality, Olympic's strong voice was a lifeline for her twin. It was a voice Titanic had clung to life for as long as she could, just to hear. And by doing so, Olympic had indirectly saved hundreds of lives. Titanic would've slipped beneath the waves much sooner had it not been for the soothing presence of her elder sister.

"Were you, were you there?" Olympic's voice was quiet now. Quieter than it had ever been. Even at normal volume she rose above the voices of her passengers. Now, it was not more than a static whisper but one that Tiffany heard clearly all the same.

"Titanic would've been proud of you, Olympic." A part of Tiffany longed to tell her sister the truth, if Olympic hadn't figured it out on her own yet. She was sure the other kanmusu had her suspicions. A human seeing a kanmusu was unheard of, a kanmusu seeing a kanmusu however...

But the idea that Titanic had returned from the dead just to haunt her big sister was too impossible and still too painful for Olympic to contemplate and the thought never entered her mind. And Tiffany herself had made a vow the night she was reborn to never tell another mortal soul the truth. She kept her silence.

"Thank you..." The gratitude in Olympic's voice nearly overwhelmed their recipient who blinked twice to clear her blurring vision and gave a silent nod in reply.

Sheera came to slowly, half buried in the soft cushions of her luxurious bed. She hadn't dreamed of her sister since long before the war with the Abyssals had begun. So why now? Mary's words yesterday came back to her. "Sooner or later you will have to fight."

"Like hell." She hissed up at the ceiling. She felt a slight shudder in reply and the glass of water she had on her nightstand fell off the edge. The glass didn't break but it spilled its contents directly onto her face just as she emerged from the covers.

Spitting and wiping furiously at her eyes, Sheera glared at the nearest wall. "Wanker." She muttered under her breath. Another, much lighter shudder quivered the bed frame and it felt suspiciously like laughter.

"Well at least someone finds this amusing." She muttered, getting out of bed and putting on her clothes for the day. One thing Sheera didn't miss about the 20th century was the sheer number of clothes a woman went through in a single day. All those changes... Now she only needed one outfit to parade around in.

Sheera was dressed in her workout clothes as she intended to go for a run before breakfast. She had a pink medium sleeved shirt on, fleece for it was getting cold as the Queen Mary 2 approached the Labrador Current. A pair of black running leggings and silver tennis shoes completed the picture. Her red hair was for once tamed and pulled back in a tight pony tail that only partially kept it from falling about every which way. More would likely fall out of the band while she was running. It was notorious for that. Around her neck she wore her most prized possession. A necklace with a crystal 5 pointed star pennant set in a casing of steel. It had been a gift from Olympic shortly before her big sister set sail on her final voyage to the breakers. The steel was fashioned from a small strip of railing Olympic's kanmusu had pulled up and then fashioned to form the case and chain of the necklace. The crystal that made the star sparkle like a diamond was taken from one of her own first class chandeliers identical to the one that still sparkled under submarine lights at the bottom of the North Atlantic. Despite her vow of secrecy, Sheera was unwilling to part with the necklace and had never taken it off. She fingered it briefly, tracing the edges of the star that mimicked the symbol of her now lost Line.

Sheera shoved the past down deep into her cargo holds, lowering her watertight doors for good measure before leaving the room.

One of the great things about Queen Mary 2 was the sheer amount of open deck space. The top deck provided a perfect running track for amateurs and for those more experienced or someone seeking an additional workout, a set of stairs ran down each side, connecting the short upper deck along the ships' midsection to the top promenade that filled in the gaps. Down up, down up. Sheera repeated this process a good 5 or 6 times before slowing to walk. She could easily run farther. In fact she could run across the entire Atlantic without stopping. The benefits of being a kanmusu but as far as the world was aware, she was human and humans didn't run nonstop. She could get a real workout once she arrived in America. A century of practice made her the expert at nighttime excursions and previous experience on American military bases meant she could slip out with no trouble. Once she wouldn't have cared. In fact she hadn't even done a proper kanmusu style workout since the 1950s. But the Abyssals had changed all that. Like Olympic had, the demon's presence awakened a part of the kanmusu she hadn't known existed.

Slowing to a halt next to the squat red funnel, Sheera leaned over the railing allowing the sea breeze to cool her sweating face. Her kanmusu instincts were fully tuned to her environment and she knew without even consulting her compass that the Queen Mary 2 was passing close to her wreck. The spot where she sank was forever etched into her memory and no matter how many times she crossed the Atlantic, be it by boat or by plane, she always knew where she was in relation to that spot. 41 degrees 44 minutes North, 50 degrees 14 minutes West.

"You're not thinking of going for a swim are you?" Mary's amused voice had Sheera whirling around to glare at her.

"Do I look like I want to swim down 3000 meters?" She asked sarcastically. "I made that voyage once you know, I'd rather not do so again."

"Just checking." Mary shrugged, none concerned with the look Sheera was giving her. "You just had the appearance of someone who was seriously considering doing something stupid."

"I was just thinking, that's all." Sheera replied.

"About?"

Sheera inwardly cursed but she should've expected the nosy kanmusu to ask that question. "About what you said yesterday." She replied.

"And?" Mary prompted, daring to sound even half hopeful. Well if she expected Sheera to change her mind that soon she was in for a disappointment.

"I'll think about it. Just uh, give me some time to get settled in in Yankland and I'll get back to you alright?" Sheera asked.

"This war changing your perspective?" Mary asked.

"My position hasn't changed." Sheera replied. "I'll end this war as a human."

"But you aren't a human Sheera. That's what I keep trying to get through to you. You can't keep on being something you're not." Mary said.

"No? I've done quite well at it for the last hundred years." Sheera replied.

"And you've had some pretty close calls. Mary, older Mary told me about Jarrow." Sheera couldn't hide her wince even if she tried. She had hoped Mary would not bring that up. Jarrow, she hated the town and was glad when the Abyssals shelled it to rubble. Even though the shipyard where her sister had been cut to pieces decades ago shut down not long after her death, Sheera had nearly done the Abyssal's job for them when Olympic was taken there. It took Olympic herself plus additional advice from Mauretania, to get Sheera to back down. If ever there was a point in her history where Sheera had shed her human disguise for her true kanmusu self, that was it. Humans quickly forgot about the incident. Ships however had better memories and from then on, wherever Sheera went she was recognized as one of them. Ship spirits came to her for a chat during ocean crossings, knowing she could converse with them. Ship spirits like Mary who was quick to realize Sheera's true identity. The identity she continued to deny herself.

"You still don't know how powerful you are." Mary said, bringing Sheera back to the present. The captain focused on the kanmusu once more. "You could practically end the war single handed, Titanic."

"Don't call me that." Sheera snapped, sounding eerily like her late sister.

"It is the name of your true self, you've only forgotten." Mary said and Sheera snorted. "Now I know you're desperate when you start giving me quotes." She said. "Then since you like them so much I'll give you another one; 'Fate rarely calls upon us at the moment of our choosing'."

"No, anything but that!" Sheera gave a moan, covering her aerials. Her wireless operators removed their headsets. Nobody was home to receive.

"Oh I've got a semi full just for you dearie." Mary chuckled, and it was clear now she was teasing the other kanmusu.

Sheera did her best to not give into shipgirl antics and gave the best glare she could manage. She would fervently deny she was pouting. "Maybe I should start sailing Norwegian." She said.

"Ooh right in the pocketbook." Mary said, dramatically holding a hand to her chest. "You're a cruel ship, Titanic."

"Cruel is a matter of perspective." Sheera smirked and it was Mary's turn to groan.

Chapter 5: Chapter 4~ New York, New York

Chapter Text

The entrance into New York was tricky for a ship of Queen Mary's size. The liner had made this trip over 200 times before and she had done it nearly every week for over half the year for the last decade. And each time, the trickiest part was squeezing underneath the Verezono Bridge. Once under the pilot gave the commands to utilize Mary's bow thrusters and in conjunction with her azipods, they gave the 100,000 ton ship the ability to turn on a pinhead.

Once safely in her berth after another successful voyage without an Abyssal shoving a torpedo up her ass, Mary returned to the passenger decks and managed to pull aside Tegran before the latter disembarked.

"How long do you think you're gonna be in the states for?" She asked.

"No idea. My orders only said to report in at Lakehurst. Admiral Carraway will give me further instructions there." Tegran replied.

"You've had a little bit of time to think about what we talked about earlier. So before you go, I'd like to know what you're thoughts are so far." Mary said.

Tegran sighed. "I don't know Mary. The Abyssals are a threat to everyone, kanmusu and human. They've sunk both girls and warships. How would one more, and a civilian ship at that, make any difference at all? I'm as slow as a standard at best, and half the armor of a tin can with absolutely no weapons."

"No but you're fairies have compiled the notes for all the applicable weapons over the years." Mary said. "All you need to do is increase your appetite a bit and..."

"I eat enough as it is thank you." Tegran sniffed.

The average human consumed about 2500-3000 calories a day. Tegran was a little higher than that, eating about 6000. She supposed she was fortunate that she was in America now. In Britain, it was difficult to explain away her large appetite but at least here, in the land of fast food and obesity, she'd fit in more.

Mary shrugged. "It was just a suggestion." She huffed. "But how is your rigging? 6000 calories is barely enough for upkeep."

Tegran had discovered very early on that being a kanmusu meant a vast increase in stomach space. But in order to keep up appearances she had cut her diet into a fraction of what it should be. She'd gotten used to the constant hunger pangs and her chiefs continuous rants long ago. Her crew had learned to make due with what she gave them. "It's far from sparkling clean but my crew keeps things from falling apart."

"That's about the best we can do." huffed her Chief Engineer.

Tegran ignored him as she had done for the past 100 years. It was mere habit to her now and he hated her for it, not that she gave a sh*t.

Mary tsked. "I wonder what Nomadic would have to say about that." She said.

"You haven't told her about me have you?" Tegran hissed.

"Keep your props feathered Tegran. I haven't told anyone. I'm literally only the third person in the world who knows your true identity." Mary answered, the other two being the Chairman of Cunard and the Queen herself.

Tegran sighed. "Do not tease me like that." She scolded.

"But you're so fun to tease!" Mary pouted.

Tegran rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I think you just pick on me because I'm White Star."

"Tegran, it's beneath you to suggest that a grand ship such as moi would ever stoop so low as that!" Mary gasped, holding a hand to her chest dramatically. "You forget, I am White Star as well. It is my heritage, of which I am most proud and..."

She broke off as she saw Tegran smirk, a small half smile that was a telling as it was subtle. "Oh you're good." Mary said, chucking a finger at her. "Until next time then?" She asked.

"Until next time." Tegran smiled. "I'll let you know what I decide when I decide it."

"Just don't take too long. This is not a choice that time is favorable to."

"It has been for the last 100 years."

"We weren't at war with demons from the Abyss." Mary pointed out.

"Touche." Tegran chuckled and gave Mary a hug. "Safe journeys until I return." She said.

"If I hear you've been sunk, I'll go to the spot and bring you back as a kanmusu myself so I can punch you in the face for being so stupid!"

Mary's eyes widened. "I promise to be a good and dilligent lady." She promised.

"You better be. You're my successor, the last ocean liner."

"Ah, I'm not the last." Mary reminded her.

Tegran nodded, thinking of Mary's older and more esteemed fleetmate plying the Pacific. "You're the only liner in these waters, the waters that our ancestors traveled from old world to new for centuries."

"I see your point Tegran." Mary said.

"All ashore who's going ashore!" came the familiar and very old cry.

"You better go." Mary told her. "Oh and Tegran! When you get tired of Yankland call me up. I can give you a taste of Britain to relieve the insanity that is the American kanmusu."

Tegran chuckled. "I might take you up on that." She said. "Goodbye Mary."

She stood on the dock, waving as many well wishers beside her did, her eyes on the Queen Mary 2, ship and girl, as they left New York behind and sailed over the horizon.

Chapter 6: Chapter 5~ New Arrivals

Summary:

Tegran introduces two new kanmusu. If some references seem confusing I apologize. For clarity check out the Belated Battleships thread on Spacebattles.

Chapter Text

Tegran wouldn't deny she was a bit nervous as she stood at the door to Admiral Carraway's office. Her nerves weren't out of any lack of confidence in her abilities but rather a lingering side affect of being a kanmusu. Meeting a new CO was always intimidating, meeting an Admiral the word itself more than just a title. The Admiral was SecNav's chosen delegate. His designated apostle sent to spread His orders. Tegran's only comfort was that she was not alone in her instinctive fear.

"I wonder what he will think of us, being late reporting in and all." mused Olympia. The armored cruiser had her thoughtful face on, blue eyes titled slightly up, palm cupping her chin. Strands of her blonde hair had escaped her bun and now hung in ringlets around her face.

Her companion by contrast was a bit more enthusiastic, her scarlet red hair bouncing about her shoulders as she danced in place. "My first military assignment, ooh how exciting!"

"Now, now let's not get too worked up here Big U." Tegran chided while Olympia just rolled her eyes, more used to the excitable liner's antics.

Olympia and United States had both reappeared as kanmusu after New Jersey's explosion destroyed their hulls. They'd been wondering in a daze ever since but had happily met Tegran shortly after she arrived in New York. United States had been the first to recognize her. Tegran had made a few trips transAtlantic back when she was still Tiffany Andrews and United States, like most ocean liners, recognized her as one of them although she had no idea of her full identity. She greeted Tegran with a hug so tight that it popped several rivets and left the older girl gasping for breath.

Olympia, dully informed by United States' stories, was more professional. "So the mysterious kanmusu arrives." She said, offering a simple handshake.

Upon discovering that Tegran was headed for Lakehurst, United States was happy to accompany her. Olympia agreed to go along as well, if only to keep the hyperactive liner in line.

Now the three stood outside Admiral Carraway's office. "You two wait outside until I call you." Tegran said.

"Aww, okay." United States pouted.

"We shall wait here." Olympia agreed.

Tegran nodded, then knocked. "Enter."

At Carraway's approval, Tegran went inside. "Captain Tegran Sheera, RN reporting as ordered sir." She greeted.

"At ease Captain." Carraway had a pile of folders on one side of his desk but he held one in front of him currently. It was hers. "Your record breaking ascension in the ranks has impressed many, even on this side of the pond. I have one question for you however."

"Ask it sir." Tegran said.

"You could've had your choice of any base in the world to be stationed at, why pick a foreign one?" Carraway's question was as much a test as it was curiosity. Tegran decided to opt for the most honest answer she could give, while still disguising a lie.

"Well sir, as I have already proven under Collingwood's command, I have a good understanding of kanmusu. Not just the ships but the girls as well. I requested this assignment because if I may be frank sir," At Carraway's nod, she continued. "I requested this assignment because America has yet to grasp the proper formula for summonings. And while I cannot claim to understand all its particulars myself, I am the only officer available who has the best knowledge of it. Also, once you summon a kanmusu, there is a fine juggling act that must be performed. Get it wrong and the shenanigans will become your nightmares for weeks!"

Oh how much she didn't envy Collingwood in that department. The early summons were a disaster. Not the summonings themselves, but the aftermaths. "And you feel you can, assist us through the teething troubles Captain?" Carraway asked.

"Yes sir." Tegran replied. "And on that note, I have something to offer you at this moment."

"Yes Captain?"

"Kanmusu summonings are not as straightforward as they may appear at first. As there are actually two parts to them. The first is separating the girl from her hull. The second, is often what you see in the summoning circle. The summoning itself. Separation and summoning are two different steps. Although in most cases, the second is the only one you see as most kanmusu that have been summoned have had their hulls sunk or scrapped a long time ago."

"So what your saying is that ships don't have to be sunk to become kanmusu."

"Correct. Museum ships of a certain age, their hulls being 100 years or older can in fact self summon. Their spirit, previously invisible at least to those who don't believe they exist, appears in solid form but she is still bound to her hull. Although she can in fact separate at any time of her choosing. I can tell you that on my side of the Atlantic, HMS Victory had been around as a girl since your Civil War although she had chosen not to separate from her hull until now. As she felt she was not needed. WW2 nearly did it and she would've answered the call as a kanmusu had America not joined the war when it did. Constitution also has been around long enough to see both World Wars, going so far as to serve as a nurse in the Pacific. Japan's Mikasa, turning 100 just a few years ago is also present as a physical entity but has chosen so far not to separate from her hull. There is one other example I would like to bring to your attention. As she and her companion are both prime examples of the two different ways a kanmusu can be born. USS Olympia as you know was destroyed when New Jersey's magazines detonated."

"I am aware, yes. The Navy and the Coast Guard are having a hell of a time cleaning up the mess." Carraway said.

"Becuna was spared the worst of the explosion as Olympia took the brunt of it but the damage that she took is still extensive enough that I believe she will soon be scrapped and thus available for summoning. But back to the main point. Olympia had already self summoned before she had been sunk although she had yet to separate from her hull. With her hull now gone, she is a full kanmusu. New Jersey's explosion also caused significant and fatal damage to another ship docked downstream and downwind at the time. I have brought both her and Olympia here to report for duty."

With that, the two ships who had been waiting patiently and rather impatiently outside now stepped inside. Olympia was the picture of military discipline as she made a graceful entrance. United States by contrast was barely able to keep from sprinting up to Carraway's desk.

"May I present United States Protected Cruiser Olympia; designation C-6, and Steamship United States."

At Tegran's introduction both ships stood rigidly at attention. Olympia had her spine rimrod straight and United States was doing her best to copy her, going so far as to lift her chin to match the cruiser's profile. Tegran hid a smile.

"Welcome both of you." Carraway said. "As you've no doubt heard by now the United States desperately needs more kanmusu on the east coast. United States, you're to go to Boston and be refitted to carry cargo."

"Yes Admiral."

"Olympia, I'm afraid I don't have a cruiser barracks just yet so for now you'll have to bunk in the destroyer dorms."

"Understood Admiral." "United States, I'm assigning you the rank of Lieutenant. Olympia, you'll hold the rank of Commander, both effective immediately. You'll report to Captain Sheera who will in turn report directly to me."

"Sir!" The three ships (one disguised as human) all replied.

"Dismissed."

Chapter 7: Chapter 6~ The French Arrives

Summary:

Normandie arrives on base!

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tegran had by now mostly settled into her position as Head of Shipgirl Training Operations. Through observation and interaction she'd learned who was good at recon, who was good at sniping and gunnery, who was easy to work with and who she just downright hated. In the latter category came Bluenose. Tegran had great respect for the fishing schooner, and had once been a spectator to her races. But seeing her again reminded her of just how much schooners were well, schooners. Something she rather wished to have forgotten. Bluenose was exactly how she remembered her. co*cky, loud mouthed and always running about like she was a destroyer on a sugar rush! On the other hand, her recon skills were invaluable. Being sail powered had its advantages, namely requiring less fuel for long trips. And her speed was as useful as it was legendary. Even Tegran couldn't keep up with her! A fact caused by her own previous neglect to her machinery. She'd be lucky if she could push 15 knots. Something she was working on rectifying. Speed was a useful tool and for an unarmed ship, it was the only defense.

On the other hand, there were ships she genuinely liked. Olympia's professionalism counteracted the craziness of the other kanmusu on base. Craziness that was causing Tegran to understand what Mary meant when she spoke of American shipgirls. Olympia was nearly useless in a fight and so Tegran had acquired her from logistics, making the cruiser her XO. Olympia's knowledge of older tactics really helped bring the ships together to work as a team. And seeing her in action always made Tegran think of Hood and smile. The destroyers were destroyers, ice cream loving kids who went from looking like cruisers spoiling for a fight during the day, to kiddos who wanted a good cuddle and a bedtime story at night. And then there were the Canadians... Tegran did not understand nor did she ever want to understand why or how ships could be so cool one minute and so crazy the next. It was a question best left unanswered. At least the airships were somewhat sane. Akron and Macon were big into 21 century electronics and had become the base's unofficial go to fix it girls. They were still Americans but Hindenburg kept her two charges in line for the most part.

It was lunchtime and everyone was gathered in the mess hall. Tegran had a table to herself along with Olympia. With United States in Boston being fitted out for convoy duties, the place was unusually quiet. Tegran found herself missing the chatty liner. Olympia, having gotten fourths, retook her seat beside her CO.

"Is that all you ever eat?" She asked.

"Hmm?" Distracted as she was, Tegran didn't notice her. "Well, I used to eat less. I should count my lucky stars to be in the states now. No one questions larger portions over here."

"True." Olympia agreed. "But it's hardly enough for maintenance."

"It usually isn't!" Fairy!Bell's screech could be heard by Tegran's ears all the way down from the Sovereign Realm of Engineering and this earned him an affectionate eye roll.

"True, I should be eating more. And I do. I stop by the ice cream machine several times a day. A quick, simple, and inconspicuous means of adding a few thousand more calories to my diet." Tegran said.

"If you were eating like a regular kanmusu, how much food would you need to fill your bunkers? I'm assuming you're coal fired like me." Olympia asked.

"That is correct. At full load I would carry about, 7700 tons of coal." She answered.

"Not bad for an ocean liner." Olympia said. "How far would that get you?"

"Oh about 4500 miles roughly. Enough to reach New York with coal to spare." Tegran replied.

"You ever uh." Olympia paused, playing with her food at the end of her fork. "I know it's not my place and all but do you think you'll ever, tell anyone?"

Tegran frowned. "I don't know." It was an honest answer, a far cry from her outright refusal just weeks earlier. Her main reason for hiding was shame. Shame of who she was, what her name had come to represent. She had not only failed in her duties as a ship but had become a symbol of that failure. A reminder of what should never happen again. She had vowed that cold April night to keep her true identity a secret. Spare herself from the indignity of being so well known for tragedy and death. To reveal herself now, the very idea made her feel hopeful almost. Where once she felt revulsion. Mary was right, the war was changing her perspective. And realizing that only scared her more.

"I chose to remain hidden for a reason. But maybe that reason is becoming irrelevant." She sighed.

"You're darn right it is!" Shouted Fairy!Andrews, hidden on her shoulder behind a lock of red hair. She shot a glare at him in a way that would go unnoticed by Olympia.

When she turned back to face the cruiser she noticed that all conversation in the mess hall had ceased. Finding this odd as several destroyers were nearby and of course the schooner table was full as always, Tegran turned to the doors. A new kanmusu was striding in and as she stepped into the light, Tegran could see why everyone had gone hushed. All kanmusu had unnatural beauty, even Tegran as disguised as she was had a figure that most woman she knew envied her for. But this ship put all other kanmusu to shame! She had long blond hair that shimmered down her back and dark blue eyes that were as seductive as they were beautiful. Tegran knew she was staring. And she was well aware that staring was unladylike. But right then she didn't care. Her thoughts were for nothing else but the new ship in front of her. She recognized her, of course she did. Tegran had lived long enough to see the ships of both world wars. And this one, though her career was brief, trumped them all! That unmistakably flared bow, pure unbroken lines. Smooth uncluttered decks and three magnificent smokestacks. And the obvious French air about her, despite her USN uniform. Tegran had never sailed on Normandie, despite being quite busy crossing the pond in the 1930s. She always regretted not knowing what the French liner's kami looked like. Now she knew.

Olympia recovered first, perhaps because she was older and had seen more stuff. Who knew. Whatever it was she looked over at her companion, finding Tegran still staring her green eyes fixed on Normandie's figure as she walked by. Normandie was not blind to the captain's staring and actually paused, winking flirtatiously at Tegran before continuing on. Tegran had no reply to that, her eyes tracking Normandie's lovely stern as the kanmusu wondered to the chow line.

"Not a lesbian. Not a lesbian." She tried in vain to reassemble her thoughts. "Not a lesbian. Dat aft. Not a lesbian... Not a... Not..." She groaned, finally managing to tear her eyes away as Normandie moved behind a table and out of her view. She cradled her head in her hands and Olympia patted her shoulder consolingly. Inwardly the cruiser was grinning. She'd never and from what she understood of the kanmusu in hiding, Tegran had never fallen for the 'love at first sight' vibe in her life! This was going to be juicy!

Tegran herself had managed to restart her brain and it composed on single thought, amusingly in that Aussie's accented voice. "Well, I'm right f*cked aren't I?"

Notes:

Eventual Normandie/Titanic!

Chapter 8: Chapter 7~ Training

Summary:

Normandie gets her first experience as a carrier. It doesn't go well...

Chapter Text

Normandie joined the other shipgirls under Tegran's command, something that had the Titanic kanmusu torn between squealing with joy or curling up on the floor in despair! Olympia had seen how smitten she was, she was captivated by Normandie. And the French girl's flirtatious demeanor wasn't helping! But Tegran was determined not to let her feelings show too much. If Bluenose caught wind of this, she'd never hear the end of it!

Most of the destroyers were off on patrol, leaving just a small group for Tegran to deal with today. At the end of the line were Bluenose and Theabaud. The two famous schooners stood at attention and it was almost comical to see how they worked to imitate the larger ships. Hindenburg and Macon were the ships the schooners were trying to imitate. Given Hindenburg's German professionalism and Macon's rigidity, a far cry from her excitable sister, not an easy task. Behind them and well hidden enough that Tegran had to rely on her special senses just to know that she was there, was Harder. The submarine was almost as good at hiding as she was. Next in line came United States. The speedy ocean liner had just returned from a refitting in Boston and now sported 6, 4.5 inch guns in dual mounts on her deck. As well as a pair of 40 mm guns. Next to her and at the front of the line was Normandie. Her empty quiver had been filled partially with a handful of arrows. Trial aircraft for her to get used to before she was given a full compliment of planes. She sported a gun armament similar to an Essex's. They were all gathered on the banks of the Delaware River, 15 miles or so upstream from Camden near the town of Stockton.

Tegran could hear a scratching sound in her hear and one eye flickered down to see fairy!Andrews scribbling away on his notepad. With the ability that all kanmusu had, she took enough attention away from her fleet to scold him silently. "What are you doing?!"

"Taking notes. That Normandie's got an armament that with a little deck reinforcement, would be perfect for you!" He replied.

She hissed softly through her teeth. "Get down before someone sees you!"

"No worries there my dear. I am the master of disguise." He replied and Tegran groaned. There was no use talking him out of it.

She returned her full attention to her fleet and paced in front of them, Olympia watching silently behind her. Her hands were clasped behind her back like a classic drill sergeant. She spoke like one too.

"Convoys. They were a vital part of winning the last war and they are just as vital today. Most of you are used to operating on your own but today will be all about teamwork. You will have to work together to achieve your mission."

"And, what is our mission Captain?" asked Normandie in that shy yet alluring voice of hers.

Tegran brushed her red hair across her cheeks to hide her blush. "You are going to play a miniature convoy. Harder here will play the role of U-boat trying to sink you."

Harder waved. "Hello!" She called timidly.

"United States will be the transport ship." United States waved excitedly.

"Hindenburg and Macon will act as long range scouts, scanning the path ahead for any signs of submarines and then reporting back. You do not engage until you have made contact with the convoy." Tegran stressed and the two airships nodded. Tegran noticed how Hindenburg's fairies were dutifully taking notes and she was aware of Andrews on her shoulder doing the same thing.

"Bluenose and Theabaud will be our first line of defense. Once the airships radio in it'll be your job to confirm the sighting. Use your speed and maneuverability to outwit the submarine and draw it in towards the bigger guns." The two schooners grinned almost giddily. "If the destroyers were here, they'd do the depth charging. But since they aren't, you two will have to do your best. Normandie will cover you as she's on CAP duty."

Normandie looked a little nervous. "Excuse me captain but um, I haven't much experience with planes. No experience really."

"Well then now is the perfect time to get some isn't it." Tegran replied. "Remember, this is just practice. So if you mess up, that's okay. We can always try again. The convoy's job is to reach Trenton. "Reach that, and you're safe. But if Harder sinks United States, you lose. You all understand that?"

"Yes ma'am!" Came the reply.

"Okay, begin!"

Chapter 9: Chapter 8~ Dreams

Summary:

Both Normandie and Tegran have dreams of very different material...

Chapter Text

She dreamed of Belfast. She dreamed of the rolling green hills. The brick homes of her thousands of men. Her creators who had given life to her through their hands, their hopes, and their faith in a better tomorrow. She dreamed of the gentle swells of the River Lagan, where she had first felt the sea's touch. She felt the thrum of life within the yard, the scurry of men like an army of ants, working to build their nest. And serve their Queen. Waiting on her every whim. She remembered the first time she ever put to sea, the life within her coming awake for the first time as her screws pushed her bulk through the water. Her bow dancing on the swells, a harmony of motion between ship and sea. A dance that no man could understand. A dance sacred to ships alone. She remembers passing her first test and her sister's pride at her achievement. She remembers the hopes of those seeking a better life. The desires of the wealthy. She remembers the dreams of everyone who was with her. She is the Ship of Dreams after all.

But she also remembers the darkness. And the cold that put her there. She remembers the pain of collision and the foreign sensation of the sea within her hull. She remembers the agony of the last hours of her life. As her hull took strain it was never designed to withstand. It was relief she felt when her back broke. She felt nothing after that. She could not sense more beyond the cold. She remembers the screams and it was those screams that brought her back. As the people left behind after her passing begged for her return. A cry she could never refuse. For what good it did in the end.

She remembers emerging into her new life, numb with cold and sick with shame. She remembers Carpathia's loving but futile kindness. She does not remember arriving in New York, nor how she avoided testifying in the inquiries, although both American and British governments sent out subpoena's for her. She does not remember her first job in America, nor her second one. All she remembers is her decision to stay in her new home. And never return to Britain or Belfast again. She does return to the former eventually. The events of the World Wars calling her to service. She remembers serving with some of those who she had known from That Night, reunited aboard her tragic little sister. She remembers watching Britannic go down, her own cowardice preventing her from following. She remembers the death of her first husband, not that she cared much for him. He provided her with a cover to live by and the wealth to stay near the sea. It is her second husband who she misses the most. His presence is what kept her stable in the years where the fleet she loved, the line she loved, was absorbed. And her only remaining sister sent to an unmarked grave. She remembers her daughters with fondness. Queens like their mother, a mother they would never know. For she had left them as she had left her husband, unable to reconcile with what she was. That she would outlive them all. A fact that was partially right. Her husband had died in the eighties. And she knew enough to learn he had remarried and had three sons. Her daughters were just as mortal as he although they took after their mother. One had perished in flames in a land far from her home. The other was not much more than floating corpse in California. Tegran had never had the stomach to visit her, despite her many opportunities.

As always her dreams ended with a final image of what might have been. Of her, her daughters and their father together sailing aboard her hull. Her sisters in procession beside her with the whole of White Star following. A proud moment, a memory that would never be.

.........................................

She dreamed of fire. For fire was what had consumed her. She held no grudges, no anger against those who's incompetence had caused this disaster. She had been bred to serve the rich and wealthy but had found a new way to serve those who needed her the most. Normandie did not regret her life or her death. She was happy to serve in any capacity she could, forever grateful to her adopted country for getting her out of that mess in Europe.

Her dreams changed as her thoughts turned to an individual who was beginning to work her way into her heart. Tegran was no ordinary human. The captain was strong, feisty, and with a brilliance that only a kanmusu could match. Her green eyes reflected experience and wisdom. Wisdom earned through hard times. She was very tight lipped about her past, a fact that made her all the more attractive to Normandie. Normandie loved people. She loved to learn more about them and Tegran's mystery drew out the eager lover in the French ship.

She dreamed of Tegran.

Chapter 10: Chapter 9~ Normandie Discovers Fanfiction

Summary:

Oh no...

Chapter Text

Normandie would admit she was still new to this whole shipgirl thing. Emphasis on "girl!" There was still so much she wanted to discover and was discovering about herself every day! One of the first things she did was research several books on how to best be a girl and it devolved from there. Now her room was stuffed with shelves and shelves of books, like a miniature library. She had a bit of everything, from Titanic novels to the entire Warrior series and anything in between. Her current project lay with the Harry Potter books. She was currently working on Order of the Phoenix. But reading out of a book was the last thing she had in mind today. Because in her research she had come across the most wonderful website! It was called FanFiction and Harry Potter fics were quite popular there. Normandie didn't want spoilers so she set the filters accordingly. So far, she had gotten through the entire angst, friendship, and humor sections. And today she was going to delve into romance. She set the perimeters accordingly, not realizing that because she was considered an adult that a certain set of filters were off.

The first twenty results compromised something called a slash-fic. Normandie had never come across a word like that before and she loved solving a mystery. Curious, she clicked on the first result and began to read.

..................

2 hours later and she was still at it, dumbfounded, in awe and what was that collecting on her keyboard, was that drool. She wiped it away, making a mental note to bring napkins the next time she logged on. "This is-wow!" She breathed. "I wonder what the art is like?"

Another 2 hours and Normandie still had only barely scratched the surface. She would have loved to just stay in here and continue her 'research' but a knock on her door put an end to that fantasy. She logged off and closed her computer, grabbing her stuff and meeting Tegran on the shooting range.

The captain noticed her drifting attentions. "Normandie, are you alright?"

"Hmm, I'm fine Captain." Normandie offered a grin that she hoped was more confident than she felt. Inside she was squirming. "Tegran would not be pleased if she knew what pleasures I had discovered." The captain was old fashioned, much like the handful of ocean liners from the previous generation that Normandie had known, Aquitania notably among them. "Grumpy old granny. Who put a stick up her..." Normandie muttered.

"What was that?" Tegran asked curiously.

"Nothing!" Normandie quickly readied her rigging for shooting.

Her first salvo wasn't the best but it was an improvement over last time. When she'd seen the battleships go out on firing exercises she'd thought "that's easy. I could do that in my sleep." She no longer thought that. Gunnery practice was HARD! It was harder than backing into your dock in the middle of winter with ice all around without the help of tugs!

Grumbling, Normandie readied her guns again. Range was difficult for her, despite her impressive finders. She was having a hard time learning it, despite the fact that all her instructions had been given to her in French, to make it easier for her fairies to read. She adjusted her position and fired again. Three targets went up in smoke.

"MMMOOOOIIIIII!!" "OOOIIIIIII!!" Cheered two fairies simultanously! One was standing on Tegran's shoulder and looking across at the other fairy with some kind of conspiratorial grin. Judging his position nicely, he leaped from Tegran to Normandie and the two fairies exchanged notes. Then the British fairy returned to Tegran who face palmed, grumbling something under her breath.

"Nice shooting." She said. "I hope you can keep that up for the exercise tomorrow." With that she walked away, the fairy on her shoulder lowering himself down for balance.

Normandie looked at her own fairy. It was her designer Vladimir Yourkevitch and he was going through the notes he'd received, every now and then making a "moi" grunt. He looked contemplative and Normandie could only wonder what he was looking at. "May I?" She asked. He looked at her, gave her that same conspiratorial grin and disappeared back inside. Normandie grumbled, not used to being told off by her own crew. Just what were fairies up to?! She figured the only way to find out was to talk to Tegran. "Moi!" And apparently her fairies agreed... were they playing matchmaker?!

Normandie would admit she did have some interested in the captain. And if her fairies approved, well. She'd need to go on the offensive. A pretty lady like Tegran would not remain single for long. As she brainstormed for ideas she remembered that a certain American holiday was coming up. Well, it was time to go back to her room and conduct some research into this "Valentine's Day".
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Chapter 11: Chapter 10~ Fairy Talks

Summary:

Andrews attempts to talk some sense into his ship, without much success.

Chapter Text

Titanic stormed into her room practically shoving Andrews off her shoulder. The fairy designer fell onto the desk with a little plop. Rising he shot his ship a glare. "Don't give me that! You're supposed to stay hidden!"

"Oiiiii!!"

"I do not like Normandie that way!" She protested.

"OI!" Fairy!Andrews protested.

"Don't get smart with me!" Tegran growled.

"Oi..." He conceded.

Tegran sighed. "Okay look, she can't know. No. One. can know."

"Oi?"

"Because I'm a failure!" She shouted, unable to contain it any longer. "I had one job. ONE JOB that night and I failed! I failed so spectacularly that I'm known all over the world for that failure. People and ships alike worship me when they should ridicule me."

"OI! Oi! Oi!! OIIIII!!!"

Tegran winced at her designer's rant. "But I did. And not just that but it happened on my maiden voyage! I wasn't some old ship, I was young. Brand new. At least Britannic had a few trips in her when she went down and that wasn't even her fault."

"Oi!"

"Yes it was! If I'd been paying more attention..." Tegran whispered.

"OIIII!!!" Andrews yowled.

"Would you stop that?! Yes, it is my fault!" She snarled.

"....Oi!" He whined.

"That's not fair and you know it!" Tegran glared.

"Oi!" Andrews gave a smug grin.

"I hate you!"

"Oi." He winked.

Tegran grumbled. "You're just distracting me. It's still true. All of it."

"Oi, oi, oi, oiiii!!"

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Quit that!"

"Oi, oi, oiii!!!" He sang in a familiar tune.

"No, please not that!" Tegran groaned.

"Oi. Oi. Oi oi oi oiiiii!!"

"Gah!!!" Tegran put her hands over her ears, turning away. "Tralalala! I'm not listening!"

"Oiiiiiiiiiii!!!" Andrews sang in an irritatingly off key voice.

"Shut. Up! Please." She begged, hoping the add on mannerism would work. It didn't.

"Oi!"

"Oh so now you're resorting to blackmail?" She asked. "Didn't know you had it in you Mr. Andrews."

"Oiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!"

Tegran fumed. She was losing this argument, badly! "Why am I even talking to you." She held out her hand. "Come inside."

Andrews looked at the offered limb, shook his head and backed away. Tegran was not amused. "I'm not asking mister." She growled.

"OOOIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"

"Ugh!!!" Tegran's head pounded the desk. Andrews let her be for a few seconds before coming over and running a little hand through her red locks. "I know, I know..." Tegran sighed. "I just, I can't keep doing this."

"Oi."

"I...." "Just accept his right, Titanic. There's no winning this argument."

Tegran's only consolation was that Andrews was just as surprised at Olympia's presence as she was. She whirled around to face the cruiser who had stepped just inside the door. "Would it have killed you to knock?!" She hissed.

"I did, then I heard you arguing and I figured you were too busy to notice so I just came in anyways." Olympia to her credit did look a little sheepish but she said it in that typical infuriatingly American way that left no doubt that as responsible as she was, she was still a Yank.

Tegran sighed. "I'm not going to ask what you heard, considering you called me by my real name." She would have never referred to 'Titanic' as her real name five years ago. Once again Mary was proving herself right. The war was changing her perspective.

"Oi!"

"You be quiet!" Tegran hissed at her designer. "As for you," She turned to Olympia.

"Oh I promise not to tell anyone." The cruiser's smirk implied a but.

"But?" Tegran prompted.

"I promise to hold my silence for 48 hours. If you don't tell the Admiral by then, I will tell it at breakfast, to the whole base." Olympia said proudly.

Tegran growled. "You do know I have over a century's worth of skills to make you keep quiet."

"And I have guns. You don't." Olympia shot back.

"I hate you!" Tegran pouted, knowing there was no way out of this.

"Love you too, Titanic. Excuse me, Tegran." Olympia finished with a wink which served to only further infuriate the Belfast built liner.

Tegran for her part kept a remarkable grasp of her Irish temper although her brogue started to slip through. "Isa there anythin' else?" She asked.

"Nope! Just that! Well, I thought I'd let you know I caught up with Normandie and her chief engineer told me to tell you that your two crews are playing matchmaker."

Tegran shot her designer a look which he returned with a "i'm guilty but I don't care" grin. She sighed. "My designer playing matchmaker behind my back. My own XO blackmailing me. What else could go wrong today?" She asked.

Olympia bounded across the room faster than one would expect for a ship her age and clamped a hand over Tegran's mouth, holding the liner close. "Shhh!! The universe is always listening!"

At that moment, the alarms went off and the loudspeakers came on. "GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS ABYSSALS INBOUND. CRUISERS WITH HEAVY BATTLESHIP ESCORT! GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS! ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!!"

Olympia gave Tegran a look that did not need any interpretation. "Sorry?" The liner offered. Olympia sighed. "It'll have to do. Come on!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I have no weapons!"

"No but you are a kanmusu." Olympia didn't pause as she dragged Tegran behind her. The liner was trying and failing to resist. "Damn my rusting old engines!" She thought. She could hear her chief's 'I told you so' rants from here!

"I don't even know if I can summon my rigging!" Tegran protested.

"Time to find out then. Unless you want to leave the offensive line to Normandie." Thinking back to the last time she did that, Tegran agreed with a wince. The state of New Jersey was still placing angry calls to Admiral Carroway for property damage.

"Unhand me!" Tegran at last pulled free and matched strides with Olympia as the two kanmusu sprinted into the fight.

Chapter 12: Chapter 12~ The First Battle

Summary:

With Normandie busy doing carrier things, Tegran decides its time to kick some ass and she's got a pair of crazy ass schooners who are more than willing to assist her in that.

Chapter Text

Thus far the East Coast had been relatively untouched by the Abyssal War. New Jersey's magazine explosion notwithstanding, the Atlantic as a whole had remained relatively quiet compared to the fiery hellstorms that the allied fleets were dealing with in the Pacific. Not that there hadn't been attacks on US soil. A handful, all relatively minor and isolated but intel suggested these had been just preludes. The Abyssals feeling out their opponent in the west before turning their attentions away from a ravaged Europe. This was the first strike. And it came unexpectedly. There was evidence of an Abyssal carrier if the 109s streaking overhead as they concentrated their fire on the Command building were anything to go by. They were being backed up by old Swordfish biplanes which through MSSB made short work of the modern jets sent up to defend the base. From over the trees and presumably at Crystal Lake, a group of cruisers bombarded the base's runways and infrastructure as the planes used their guns to take out fleeing personnel.

This is what Tegran and Olympia saw as they reached the shore. Normandie had gotten the shipgirl contingent together and was doing her best to coordinate some sort of counterattack but her inexperience showed. Tegran was a Captain in Her Majesty's Navy. She had lost her only command to the Abyssals at the start of the war but not before inflicting damage the bastards wouldn't soon forget. And she'd been ordered to this base to train and protect her American counterparts. She didn't hesitate. She stepped off the dock, into the water.

Her rigging deployed immediately. It was dilapidated, rusted and in danger of falling apart due to the neglect she had given it over the years. But for now it held, keeping her afloat. "Muster stations!" She ordered her crew who immediately followed her commands. Passengers left the hallways and decks and retreated to their cabins out of the way unless otherwise tapped for assistance by the crew. The small arms were readied by the officers and boxes of flares were put out on either side of her bridge ready for firing. It wasn't much but it was all they had. Tegran took stock of the fleet's situation.

Normandie's pilots, despite their inexperience were holding off the worst of the incoming air strikes for now. The destroyers were quick and light on their feet, darting in to the mouth of the lake and out of the barrage as they quickly launched their torpedoes, then retreated under the cover of the fire from the shore batteries.

Tegran steamed up next to the converted carrier. "Normandie, give me a sit rep!" She ordered. She could see the questions burning in Normandie's eyes but the carrier wisely shoved them aside. Now was not the time!

"We've got a heavy cruiser contingent that's in Crystal Lake. Their carriers are presumably offshore somewhere to the south. I've got scouts looking near Ortley." Normandie answered.

"What are their numbers?"

"I count 4 heavies and 2 light cruisers. They look like Ne's and Ho's." Normandie replied. "The shore batteries are helping to redirect their fire off the main base. Bluenose and Thebaud are working on setting up the hidden battery for the aircraft to keep them away from the city."

"That's about as best as we can hope for right now." Tegran sighed. "Alright coordinate with Olympia." She began as said cruiser came up beside them. "Olympia, take Champlain and Nuenzer down the Tom's River to Crossley. I need to know how these bastards got so far inland without us knowing and if there's more on the way to outflank us."

"Yes ma'am."

"Normandie, I want aircover over the Heights and Beachwood on both sides of the river. If anything tries to slip in, I want to know about it!"

"Yes ma'am!" Normandie quickly developed that glassy eyed look that all carriers get when they were 'talking' to their planes. "Done!" She said as her scouts diverted their search for the missing Abyssal carrier and took up station guarding the river mouth. The rest of her planes began a series of dive bombs on the cruisers, harassing them and messing up their previously accurate fire.

"Good, the two of you coordinate. Normandie you see and report, NO heroics."

"Understood." The carrier nodded.

"What are you going to do?" Olympia asked.

Tegran's grin was unlike anything ever seen on an ocean liner. Olympia tried to think of a term better than bloodthirsty. "I, am going to teach those bastards a lesson in why they shouldn't attack US soil."

The leader of the Abyssal squadron was a Ne-class. She was one of the old guard, the first to appear and wreak havoc on the earth. Those golden times were but a happy memory. Now it was a fight for every scrap of land and she could sense the tide was starting to turn. Something within her said what she was doing now would backfire and spell the end for every Abyssal out there. But the rest of her was happy to be drawing blood once more. And to be doing so from her beloved flagship, the great Lone Princess. Though she was not a warship, her beloved Princess had the heart of one and the Ne was honored to be the one chosen to carry out her orders. Her ichor sang and her cold heart trilled at the sound of her gunfire. Let the fire rain down!

One of the advantages to being human for so long was that you got used to it. There was little difficulty in the transition between sea and land as most kanmusu experienced when first putting away their rigging. For Tegran, stepping onto the beach and into the thick woods was as easy as simply disembarking from a cruise ship. Chatelin, Davis, and the cruiser Portland, a new summons from Norfolk were her escort. They were not as adaptable.

"Ugh, now I've got mud inside my shoes. Every time I step it goes squish!"

"Ach! Mossies, they're everywhere!"

"Someone please tell me why I'm stuck with these two brats." Portland fumed.

"Less whining more walking." Tegran said sternly in a tone that demanded silence. She got it and for the next mile it was maintained. As they came to a clearing though, she held up her hand. The company stopped and dropped low to the ground, muscles tense and even though they couldn't nor wouldn't dare deploy their rigging on land, it was hard to resist the urge. Especially when a rustle was heard. Tegran waited a few seconds, then lunged. There was an "oomph" sound and when Tegran looked she found herself sitting on Bluenose who looked up at her half frightened, half amused. "And my dream of being tackled by an ocean liner comes true." She purred.

Tegran briefly wondered how Bluenose could have known so quickly then realized that the sneaky schooner had probably been watching from the trees. She rolled her eyes and climbed off her. "Friendly." She called to her companions who relaxed when they saw who it was. Thebaud was leaning back against an oak tree, grinning like she'd just swallowed a canary. Bluenose glared at her. "Not. One. Word." She said and the American yacht threw up her hands, shaking her head in agreement while still grinning.

Tegran sighed and ordered the pair to join her in silence which they somehow managed to do. Not easy for a pair of chatterbox schooners.

The group managed to circle to the south shore of Crystal Lake, behind the Abyssal fleet. "Spread out." Tegran ordered them. "And stay hidden."

Attacking an enemy fleet from land was not just a risky strategy, usually it had the same result as storming an uphill beach against an enemy in a dependable fortified position. Memories of the aftermath of Iwo Jima surged up before she could stifle them and Tegran shuddered. "Oiii..." Andrews soft spoken voice pulled her back to the present before she could bury her bows in the past. After all, this would be very different than Iwo Jima. Tegran looked around her, having not just the view of an average human but also the view from the perspective of her lookouts, high in her crows nest. Their vision transferred to her. And what she could see made the grin on her face even wider. "This, is going to be magnificent." She said to herself. Taking one last look at the oblivious Abyssals, still concentrating their fire on Normandie's pesky planes, the liner merged into the thick woods, becoming one with them.

Chapter 13: Chapter 13~ A Schoonsanity of an Idea

Summary:

Thebaud's genius plus Bluenose's love of fire generally tend to lead to some truly horrific things! That said, the system they built is a POS (Piece of Sh*!). Admittedly an awesome POS but still, a POS. And that isn't the best thing to be working with in a battle...

Notes:

"Radio Speak"
"Normal Speak"

Chapter Text

It was called SAABDeS or Secret Anti-Aircraft/Battleship Defense System. At least that's what Thebaud insisted it be called because Bluenose's coin of PACADA or "Pure American-Canadian Abyssal Destroying Awesomeness" just didn't work! The genius of the system was its simplicity. Once it was understood that modern defense systems didn't work the military set out to create an old fashioned design that could combine with modern weaponry. The best designers stumbled at the task. It required something that wasn't available up until a few months ago. Kanmusu. A little dose of SMSB worked wonders and the system was ready for testing within a week of New Jersey's return. It was NOT ready for combat! But with the cruisers pounding the base from the lake and the wherabouts of the carrier unknown, the rulebook had been thrown out the window. This was the best chance they had of repelling this attack. At least until the reinforcements underway from Norfolk could arrive.

The SAABDes had a serious of gun batteries hidden under the wooden foliage and matching tarps. A main battery of a 7 inch dual mount with a pair of 40 mm quad mounts on either side providing 270 degrees of fire. The rear was protected by a 24 inch armor plate that extended over the gunman's head ensuring full coverage. 6 of the planned 12 batteries were fully operational, one for each of Tegran's squadron. But this would not be easy.

Tegran climbed into her turret and put on her headset. "Turret 4 on line." The others reported in as well. Bluenose had overall command in the number 1 turret located about a mile further east along the shoreline and overlooking the junction with the Tom's River. "Everyone's in position, firing up main generator." She reported.

In order for the turrets to operate they required a lot of power. That power was given through a hydro-electric generator on the bottom of the river. It used the Tom's current to collect the power via a small turbine and send it on to the turrets. There was one issue however. You couldn't pick and chose what turned on. Everything was activated including a very conspicuous radar. Bluenose seemed to know what her companions were thinking. "I'll give it one sweep then shut it down." She said. "That should be enough to keep them from pinpointing us. But enough for us to get a lock on them." They would have one shot. The thick foliage would prevent them from firing a second accurate shot without turning the radar back on. It was a fine balancing act. One they could not afford to get wrong.

Thebaud who had direct access to the radar as she was closest to the tower, did a countdown. "Bluenose, initiate start up sequence... now!" Halfway between the river and the western shore of the lake the previously dormant radar tower, disguised as a lighthouse, came to life. Armor plates retracted, revealing the delicate equipment. It began to turn, providing them all with real time information of the topography around them and more importantly what ships were in the vicinity and where! It was so sophisticated that one sweep was all it took. Thebaud killed the switch and as quickly as it appeared the radar was gone, back into the false lighthouse.

"FIRE!" The six manned mounts spoke as one, the rail gun technology incorporated into each mount allowed the 7 inch shells to streak across the water at nearly 7 times the speed of sound. The simple design worked! And the Abyssals immediately felt its sting. Two cruisers went up in flames as the armor piercing rounds went straight into their deepest holds and detonated. One Abyssal broke its back and sank almost instantly. The other wished she was dead as fire quickly spread through all her decks. A special feature of these shells as even if they didn't pierce the hull they could still cause fatal damage due to the napalm stored in the aft section. It had been Bluenose's idea, implemented last Friday. Only a few of these shells had these and all came from Tegran's mount. There had been no time to load all the mounts with these new shells. The seven inchers fell silent after one volley but the anti-aircraft guns continued to belch fire, guided by a secondary radar system based on the brilliance of the Iowa's. Tegran, Chatelin, and Portland aimed theirs at the Abyssals, the small but powerful depleted uranium rounds chewing up the cruiser's decks and distracting them from their duties. Bluenose, Thebaud, and Davis concentrated their fire on the retreating aircraft as they flew back to the carrier. Those that made it through were swiftly dealt with by Olympia and Normandie. Only a handful escaped the gauntlet.

Tegran was beginning to think that the battle was turning in her favor as the leading Ne-class began to pull her remaining ships out of there, leaving the burning Ho behind for the gunmounts to finish it off. That's when the Ne made a 180, her fleet continuing on downriver to presumably create a distraction on Normandy for their flagship to escape. The Ne's position indicated to Tegran that they'd been spotted. Or at least Bluenose had. She was the closest and the most exposed to the cruiser on the river. Thebaud immediately got on the radio to warn her companion. "Bluenose, get out of there!" She roared. There was a double click as Bluenose tried to obey as swiftly as she could. But it was clear she would not escape in time. Thebaud reactivated the radar and routed it through her mount alone. It was a move of pure desperation but it worked. The Ne redirected her guns to the easier target and fired.

Of the four 8 inch guns that fired, only 1 of the shells hit any where near the mark. The remaining 3 struck either the foliage, one destroyed the beach and another went high and landed inside Whiting which Tegran was sure would earn her some angry phone calls. The last shell was right on target, its angle striking the armor plate from above at its weakest point. The armor on top was only 8 inches thick. Since the turrets were in the jungle the thought was that plunging shellfire would not be a concern. It was now. Inside, Thebaud knew what was coming and instinctively she ducked out of her chair, huddling under the console.

The Ne was smart enough to load AP rounds and given how close she was, there was no doubting it. The round went straight through. The explosion was directed through the path of least resistance, straight out the other side of the turret. The side armor bulged, then gave way allowing the gases to escape. In her turret a mile away, Tegran felt her ears ring and her teeth vibrate. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to be closer.

"THEBAUD!" Bluenose's agonized scream sounded over the radio. "THEBAUD PLEASE RESPOND!" Tegran ground her teeth together as did everyone on the team as they waited for a reply. The only one they got was a secondary explosion as the remaining rounds in the magazine went off leaving a flaming ruin that was most certainly Thebaud's funeral pyre.

Chapter 14: Chapter 14~ You May Fire When Ready

Summary:

Olympia and Tegran struggle to hold the line.

Chapter Text

Olympia couldn't hide her grin if she tried when she saw Tegran deploy. She'd always known the captain had it in her! Despite Tegran's fierce denial she was beginning to embrace herself. Olympia's desire to see the kanmusu accept who she was was twofold. Yes it could help her country greatly as a kanmusu who'd been a human since long before the war had SecNav knows what to whip out on Abyssals. But it also would help Tegran as well. The war was changing her, and not in a good way. By keeping that shame and guilt bottled up inside Tegran was in danger of becoming the very things she was fighting. Accepting Titanic was the only way she could keep it at bay.

"Everyone hold onto your sterns, the Big T is back!"
Oh Olympia knew she'd pay for that announcement even as her radio crackled with questions from the other girls. She deflected them, telling them in no uncertain terms that they had an Abyssal force to fight and that curiosity would have to take a backseat for now! When she joined Tegran and Normandie she could see that her earlier assesment was correct. Tegran was glaring at her in a manner that made icebergs look balmy! "I, am so screwed." The cruiser thought but pushed aside her apprehension. She knew as did Tegran that now was not the time to settle scores. Olympia followed her orders to the letter, guiding the eager Neunzer downriver as the pair prepped to cut off the Abyssal cruisers escape.

Olympia would be lying if she said she wasn't concerned about Tegran. It wasn't that she doubted the captain's ability to handle herself in a fight. Tegran had been involved in every war since WW1! It was what she was doing now! The SAABDeS was a marvel of engineering considering the time frame it had been constructed under but scratching beneath the surface revealed it for what it really was, an over sophisticated piece of scrap! Old gunmounts that no one wanted (with good reason) modified to take modern rounds. And whatever else that pair of crazy schooners could come up with to shove in there. What could possibly go wrong?

A series of explosions told Olympia that the SAABDeS had been activated, whether it was working was another matter and she was in no position to see visually if it was. Her radio crackled, it was Tegran. "Olympia, you have two Hos and a Ne coming your way." "We have the welcome mat ready." Olympia replied, cracking her knuckles. Each digit made a popping sound that further served to excite her. She thought about the last time she'd fought a battle like this. Well as similar as she could remember. What could actually compare? Manila Bay was a walkover that for as long as it lasted counted as one of the most joyous occasions of her life. She turned her attentions to her crew as her main battery was readied for firing. On her bridge one fairy, his brass uniform identifying him as an Admiral gave her a salute. "Heeeyyyyy!" She grinned. "Right you are sir." She replied to his order. She turned to the destroyer next to her. "Nuenzer, you may fire when ready!"

...

Tegran was in motion before she even realized what she was doing. Being the farthest away meant she had to push her way through the assembled destroyers, cruiser and remaining yacht to get to what was left of Turret 2. A few fragmented panels, wires bundled in heeps around them were the most visible part of what remained from inside the turret. None of them wanted to but Tegran steeled herself and took the first steps into the mess. There were still small fires burning what remained of the few flammable bits not yet consumed but they had died down significantly since the first explosion. She picked her way through the debris, carefully marking things she felt needed to be examined more closely with semaphore flags. The smell of unburt fumes, charred wires and burnt flesh would turn away most and it caused Bluenose to go green in the gills and run off into the bushes somewhere to hurl. But Tegran remained unphased. As a veteran of both world wars she had seen many airplane crashes and before the Abyssals came she worked for Britain's Air Accident Investigation Branch or AAIB. She'd seen several grisly aftermaths including a commuter air crash in Scotland and the Concorde crash in Paris.

Pausing at a seemingly insignificant pile of debris she recognized it as parts of the main console for the 7 inch. The joystick used to control the elevation and position of the weapon was remarkably intact. But that was not what caught Tegran's attention. She knelt and lifted the panels one by one, setting them gently to the side in the same position they had been lying in so as not to tamper with the evidence too much. Removing the last one she nearly dropped it in shock. Then even all her training could not overcome the disgust she felt at what she saw and she recoiled, clamping a hand over her mouth. She deliberately held her breath, having no desire to have her nose assaulted in the same way her eyes were. It was Thebaud, or, what was left of her. The turrets design was sealtight, keeping the gunnman safe from an assault on the outside. This design meant that when the explosion occurred there was no where for the shock-waves to go. They simply reverberated around the inside of the turret. The effect had turned the schooner inside out with parts from deep within her hull now displayed clearly for Tegran to see.

One look from Tegran was all Portland needed and when Bluenose returned the cruiser grabbed and held the schooner back so she couldn't see. She did her best to soothe her but it was clear that she was just as mortified. When Tegran stood she was no longer a captain. She wasn't a Royal Navy officer. And she wasn't Tegran Sheera. She was RMS Titanic and her green eyes burned with the fury of a thousand souls. "Portland, take Bluenose back to base then join Normandie. Davis, Chatelin with me!"

"Aye ma'am!" The two destroyers fumbled over themselves to obey the command of their commanding officer, so suddenly changed. Titanic led the way through the jungle and down to the river where she deployed effortlessly, shaking some of the rust off her rigging. She made a note to have it repaired and ready for service as soon as possible. "We have some Abyssals to sink!" She said and this time her command was greeted with more enthusiasm as Davis and Chatelin were just as eager as her to exact revenge.

Chapter 15: Chapter 15~ Escapades

Summary:

Tegran is furious over Theabaud and gives chase as best she can.

Chapter Text

Titanic was seeing red. She barely acknowledged the presence of Davis and Chatelin even as the destroyers steamed in formation beside her. They stuck as close to her as possible, recognizing their flagships lack of weaponry, her inability to defend herself. Titanic was hardly thinking about her capabilities. She was too angry to think logically in that "I have no weapons, maybe I should take a step back and let someone else do the shooting." HELL NO! She would ram that Ne bitch if she had to! But sitting back and watching the fireworks was NOT an option!

Chatelin was staring at her flagship with a mix of awe and fear. Titanic was a name spoken with reverence and even then only in the most mixed of circ*mstances. She was a goddess among ships but a goddess no one wanted to summon. All knew of her tragic fate and no one wanted that curse brought upon themselves by being so foolish as to invoke her name unnecessarily.

Davis whacked Chatelin upside the head. "You can oggle later!" She scolded the Canadian.

"Aye." Chatelin agreed. She was staring out of awe, yes. This was the ship to rival all ships. But Titanic's 'assets' were more than enough to overcome the superstitious and engage the more carnal side of human nature. Chatelin blushed. She felt like and did not wish to be compared to Johnson, the lewd destroyer who always was staring at New Jersey's boobs. But Titanic had nice curves and a lovely rack. "Right, enough of that. Back to work." Chatelin thought to herself.

The Ne was almost home free. The remains of her division were being destroyed by that outdated cruiser and her destroyers. But they had served their purpose, distracting Olympia to allow the Ne to escape. She effortlessly changed course down a side canal that would rejoin with the main river in a few miles. A perfect way around the kanmusu force. As her thoughts turned to the rewards her Princess would give her for this mission, the Ne's aft gun turret suddenly exploded!

"Hello there!" Titanic purred, giving Chatelin a wink as the destroyer's forward gun dropped back down to loading angle. Chatelin beamed, taking a slight step back to allow Davis to take her place in the firing sequence.

"Brilliant shot!" Davis cried.

"MSSB, never leave home without it." Chatelin smirked, having struck the Ne in a nearly impossible place. Her shell had gone straight down the Ne's aft gunbarrel and into the breach. The only reason it hadn't blown her stern off was because the bulkhead separating the turret from the volatile magazine had done its job.

The Ne took stock of her situation. It wasn't good. Titanic and her escorts blocked the route behind her. Olympia's force was still in the main river and no doubts had Normandie been alerted to the Ne's position and had put a lovely strike force of bomber planes in place for her. Most ships would have surrendered but the Ne had not earned her place as her Princess' most trusted commander and confident in all things by being a coward! She forged on, bow weapons at the ready.

Emerging from the canal she began zig zagging. Normandie's planes were right on que and if it wasn't for their inexperience in dropping bombs on ships, the Ne most certainly would have been reduced to scrap. Instead, she was rewarded for her daring escape by hearing the frustrated scream of Titanic and the angry cries of the destroyers as the Ne opened the throttles on her engines and raced out to the safety of the open sea.

Titanic wanted to go after her but Olympia literally grabbed and kept her in a lock. The cruiser struggled against the 45000 ton liner. It was only because Titanic's engines were in such a neglected state that Olympia could overpower her.

"Titanic, calm down!" She begged.

"I will not! She killed Thebaud!" Titanic's furious shriek shocked the cruiser so much she nearly let go but she kept her grip.

"Titanic, stop you're going to..." Olympia broke off as she noticed something ugly. Blood ran from underneath and out between her fingers. Her eyes widened. "Titanic, you're injured!" She cried.

"What?" Titanic sounded confused as her anger dimmed enough for her to hear what Olympia was saying. She examined her wound. It was deep, opening a section of her hull at the waterline and damaging one of the bulkheads separating boiler room 5 from boiler room 6. "Oh..."

Whether it was the sight of the wound or the severity of it that began to hit her as the adrenaline faded didn't matter. The result was the same. Titanic's face turned ashen, her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Olympia's soft voice and Davis and Chatelin's concerned cries faded as blackness took over Titanic's senses.

Chapter 16: Chapter 16~ The Lone Princess

Summary:

We meet the mysterious Princess at last!

Chapter Text

"You have FAILED me!" Roared the Lone Princess as she faced down her last remaining demon. The Ne that had so vigorously escaped the reach of the American and Canadian kanmusu.

"No mistress. Their numbers were beyond what we had expected. They were prepared..." Ne tried to protest as her Princess shook her in her grasp.

"Prepared? Bah! Wo reports indicate nothing more than a collection of destroyers, an outdated cruiser and an overglorified ocean liner pretending to be a carrier!" The Princess dropped Ne in disgust.

Ne made one last attempt to redeem herself. "I killed one of them!" She proclaimed proudly. "And crippled another. And Wo destroyed their long range offensive capabilities. They will not be a threat for some time."

The Lone Princess paused. She had served in war, had seen the horrors of it claim her one remaining sister. But she was no warship. Her armaments were limited to 12 pounders and a handful of 4.7 inch guns including an obvious one on her foredeck. She had no anti aircraft guns to speak of. So she rarely sortied. When she did she had Wo provide a CAP. For her military knowledge she relied on her NelRods and Ne's to advise her.

"Very well. I shall trust you on this." She said, brushing her claws, the signature mark of a Princess, across Ne's cheek. "You have survived at least. And that is very important. But for now my fleet is decimated. I have no demons left for sortie. I must build more. Will ye serve, Ne?"

Ne brightened. "I will my mistress." She answered.

Her world was dark and quiet. It was peaceful. Then she woke and there was nothing but light, and sound, and pain! She could feel the torches of hundreds of mini welders as her crew made repairs. The hole in her hull had been fixed, it was just internal cosmetics now.

She groaned and the form of Olympia filled her vision. "How are you feeling?" The cruiser asked.

"Like I was shot at." Titanic replied. "How's everyone else."

"Normandie is fine. Pissed that she couldn't catch that carrier but fine. She's overseeing the cleanup." Olympia replied, knowing that Titanic wanted to know of her first.

Titanic grunted her satisfaction. "And the others?" She asked.

"The Canadians are good. As are the airships. They've been rotating perimeter patrols since the attack. We have Thebaud in another drydock."

"I thought she wasn't salvageable. With damage like that..."

"if she was made of metal like us, she wouldn't be. Weaker materials might just save her ironically. Connie is supervising the rebuild."

"Connie? What is she doing way up here?" Titanic sat up.

"After the attack she insisted on coming and she has enough seniority to get her way. She outranks most Admirals and even SecNav himself knows better than to argue with her." Olympia said.

"Then I better mind myself." Titanic smirked. Her smirk fell away though as Olympia's friendly countenance turned dark and she glared icily at the liner.

"Oh it's not Constitution that you should be afraid of dearie." Olympia purred dangerously.

And that's when Titanic realized her mistake. She had broken just about every rule in the book, nearly gotten herself killed and the one ship who was in the position to scold her for it just so happened to be a seasoned veteran with more experience and time in her hull and thus more kanmusu bullsh*t to put out. Seeing the look on Olympia's face as she advanced, she could only think one thing. "This is going to suck!"

Chapter 17: Chapter 17~ Shipgirls Meet Supermarket

Summary:

Normandie takes the destroyers and Bluenose to the market. It goes about as well as you can imagine... And can we take that with a side of MSSB please?

Chapter Text

With Titanic still in drydock and Thebaud being practically rebuilt from the keel up (it was a miracle that most of her bottom survived) this left the other shipgirls with little to do, especially sense that Wo carrier had done a Houdini act that made the submarines jealous! And bored shipgirls were time bombs waiting to happen so Normandie took it upon herself, with a little advice from Constitution, and decided to take the girls for a little road trip. New York City was not a place where supermarkets were the first thing to cross one's mind when they heard the name but there had to be some way to supply all the people living there. Normandie drove with Portland in the passenger seat and Neunzer, Davis, and Bluenose in the back. The schooner was unusually quiet and Normandie knew she was worried about Thebaud. She almost didn't agree to come until Chatelin promised to stand vigil outside the repair dock while Bridgeport who was every bit as skilled as Vestal, did her utmost to keep Thebaud from becoming a permanent part of Jones' Locker.
Normandie would admit she had an ulterior motive for going on this little trip. She was far from board. Her reading list was more than long enough to keep her occupied until something occurred. It was nearing Valentine's Day and she still had yet to find a suitable gift for Titanic. Normandie's research, which consisted of reading sappy pictures of love cards and fanfiction, told her that not only was the gift necessary but it was vital. And it had to be something, meaningful, without giving away too much. Some would say that she might be pushing things too fast but Normandie would not be a French ship if she did not try in the art of love! Her entire ancestry was at stake! She must make the attempt to woo her chosen amour.

New York's famous (infamous) traffic meant that a trip that would take 20 minutes anywhere else in the country, took 90 and it was another 20 before she could find a parking spot. When she finally did Neunzer and Davis were quivering like racehorses in the starting gate. With barely a glance at the leashes in her hand, Normandie gave them a yank and they settled right down. Whoever invented these things deserved the highest praise from SecNav. Leashes worked wonders in reigning in rushed destroyers.

Normandie finally parked and took a hold of her leashes, literally leading, corralling, guiding, pulling, the two Americans with her in a straight line to the main entrance. Bluenose trailed behind, hands in her pocked. Her blue-white hair was pulled back in a ponytail and stuffed under a New York Giants hat. The cap did a good job of hiding her face which Normandie was certain was close to tears, as she had been since Thebaud had been put in drydock.

Sighing, Normandie paused just inside and waited for the schooner to catch up. "Anything in particular you want?" She asked.

Bluenose shook her head. "No, I'm well stocked." She replied.

"Well maybe you might want to look around and see if anything might fit Thebaud. She might be needing a few things when she wakes." Normandie suggested.

"Yeah, maybe I'll try that." Bluenose replied and went silent again, trailing along behind Normandie.

"Ooh shiny!" said Neunzer and Normandie sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm. They'd come into the appliance store, home of brand new refrigerators and sparkling faucets. Neunzer was stroking the handle of a metallic GE fridge and Normandie shuddered as she refused to think of what they would be like when they passed by jewelry. Thank god she didn't bring Harder along. The submarine could probably steal the entire mall, literally, and no one would notice.

With a quick chiding, Normandie tugged on the leashes and led the two destroyers out of the kitchen stuff before they got too involved with it. Entering the main part of the mall each took a moment to come to terms with their awe. Americans sure knew how to be efficient, having everything in one place. Everything! It was so convenient, if a little mind boggling to those who were not used to it.

Even Bluenose was impressed. "I could build an entire house in here." She said. She looked at Normandie. "Think if I did, Thebaud would want to come and stay with me?"

Normandie smiled, interpreting the schooner's underlining desire even if the Canadian herself was unaware of it. She ruffled her hair. "I'm sure she would." She replied.

First thing Normandie wanted to find was a card to go with her eventual chosen gift. And even that was proving a challenge. It wasn't that she had a hard time finding one, she had a hard time narrowing her choices down. There were just so many! And of course her charges were of no help.

"This one's pretty, it's got flowers on it. Old fashioned, she likes old fashioned things." Neunzer said.

"But this one's funny and she needs a laugh." Davis retorted.

Normandie pinched her eyebrows, now understanding and feeling strongly sympathetic to single American mothers. They had to be saints to put up with this nonsense! She eventually went with Davis' idea, agreeing with her in that Titanic preferred the old style to the new.

Placing her items in her cart she noticed that Bluenose had disappeared. Not a huge concern, the schooner knew the rendezvous point and was supposed to wait there until they were done shopping if they got separated. It wasn't like she was a kleptomaniac submarine or a destroyer on a sugar rush. She could handle herself. Normandie moved on to her next item. The actual gift. But what to get her? There was a model shop but to do that was just too forward! No, something more simple would do. Either something ornamental or something she needed. Hmm. Normandie prided herself on being very observant and she had noticed, in between meals or right after drills, whenever she had free time, that Titanic would make a run for the ice cream machine. It had seemed unusual at the time although now it made sense in that she was probably just looking for an easy way to raise her calorie intake without drawing too much suspicion however she did seem to enjoy her chosen desert. And being British meant that Titanic did not have ice cream makers aboard. Normandie didn't either but that was beside the point. She was not a fan of ice cream anyways, too cold. Her pastries were more than rich enough. Which reminded her, she needed to get a pastry kit for herself too.

Normandie located the appropriate store, still pulling Neunzer and Davis who were keen on going to the cafeterria.

"But they have pizza!" Neunzer complained when Normandie told her no.

"We have pizza at home and it's 10 times better than the slop they have here." The liner replied without looking at her. She didn't know for sure but she did know that she did not want to end up stopping for lunch here, and depriving everyone else of food by doing so.

As the destroyers pouted, Normandie scanned the shelves, marveling at the variety of stuff as she did so, searching for just the right... ah there it was! Reaching up, her height allowing her to reach the second to tallest shelf with little difficulty, she removed the preferred item and placed it in her cart. As she did so, she realized she made a crucial mistake. She had dropped the leashes. The destroyers must have been taking lessons from the submarines as they had completely vanished from the store.

"sh*t!" She cursed and began an all out search, even launching a few hellcats off her deck to go and search for them. Their intel led her to the jewelry store a few blocks down and she found herself browsing the shelves, her eyes reflecting the sparkle of the various items. She picked up a set of diamond earrings, admiring her reflection in them.

"What's wrong?" Normandie yelped at the unexpected sound of Bluenose's voice.

She whirled around to face the schooner. "Don't do that!" She shouted.

Bluenose shrugged. "Where are the destroyers?" She asked.

"That's what's wrong. They escaped." Normandie replied.

"And what did I say about keeping a strong grip on the leashes." Bluenose asked. When they first left base Bluenose had warned Normandie about literally tying the ropes to herself but the liner did not listen. She was living to regret that now.

"Well they know the rendezvous point. They're probably in the cafeteria." Normandie replied.

"Hmm, well there's been a development elsewhere that I think you should see." Bluenose said and turned and walked out. Frowning, Normandie followed her.

Bluenose went into a nearby bookstore, guiding Normandie back to the WW2 fiction section. Rounding a corner brought Normandie face to face with a young woman and in her hands were two leashes attached to two subdued destroyers. "I uh believe these," she gestured to the pair of tin cans. "Belong to you?"

"They do." Normandie glared at them. "What did I say about sticking by me!" She asked.

"We didn't wonder very far." Neunzer said and shut up when Normandie glared at her some more. No one could glare like a French liner could. A more brazen ship would say that was because that was all they could do. Thankfully no one was that brazen.

"Thank you ma'am." Normandie said as she took hold of the leashes once more, passing them to Bluenose who immediately reeled the pair in, whispering things in strong tones.

"Name's Tang." She held out a hand.

Normandie had already introduced herself and finished shaking it before the implications hit her. "Wait, you said your name is Tang? As in The Tang?"

"SS-308, yes." Tang looked about as smug as a submarine could look.

Looking more closely, Normandie could see the distinctive hull shape that outline the Balao-class. Tang the girl had long black hair allowed to flow as it pleased and blue eyes that gleamed in a way that would make an enemy ship squirm. She had the same lean, lanky body that all American boats had.

"Heard you could use some help." Tang grunted. "So here I am."

"Well, welcome aboard?" Normandie tried and Tang grinned again.

"Shucks kid, well you tried I suppose. I guess I'll just go with you to report to the Admiral?" She asked.

"That would be wise yes." Normandie replied, wondering why MSSB had decided to rear its ugly head with her! It was not like she was anything special.

"Pefection." Tang fell in the formation, following Normandie around and asking a sh*t ton of questions as the liner finished her shopping.

Normandie did her best to answer them although she did admit that some things were beyond her impressive knowledge. "Yes you won the war. Yes, Japan is your best friend now. No, I'm afraid I have no idea about your sisters. I heard Archerfish is doing her thing in Japan but other than that, well you subs are so sneaky that all of you could be back and we'd have no idea."

Tang took that as a compliment and when the motley group finally exited the supermarket for good the submarine presented Normandie a gift. A pair of diamond starred earrings. "For Titanic, to go with that pretty little necklace of hers." She said.

Normandie knew better than to ask if Tang had bought it and just accepted it. She did have to admit, they were a nice touch and Titanic was sure to appreciate them. Then a question crossed her mind. "So how long have you been hanging around?" She asked.

Tang's smirk should have sent her running for the hills, especially when Bluenose stopped in her scolding of the now very subdued destroyers and paid close attention to the submarine. But Normandie was not as focused as she should have been. "Long enough to know that you want into her skirt, desperately." Tang replied. "But don't worry, your secret's safe with me." She added at Normandie's dumbfounded look.

The liner would have scolded Tang for her impudence but a. the other ship was a submarine and thus had no sense of right or wrong and would likely not get it anyways. And b. hearing Bluenose laugh was more than worth the embarrassment Tang's comment caused her.

Chapter 18: Chapter 18~ MSSB!

Summary:

Tang is summoned, somehow leading Olympia to conduct a search for Becuna. Meanwhile, Mary and Normandie somehow become allies and enemies at the same time. Because, French and love...

Chapter Text

Admiral Carraway had seen more than enough shipgirl antics to know that nothing would ever be "normal" again. Hell even the girls definition of normal was crazy by human standards. Carrway could say he'd developed a tolerance for it. But there was only so much he could take. Tegran a shipgirl, not just any shipgirl but Titanic herself. Tang, suddenly appearing out of no where. And now Olympia scowering the entire city for her berthmate Becuna because well, cruiser logic. If one submarine was back then they all should be back... yeah Carraway needed a drink, soon.
For now however, he focused his attentions on the girls in front of him. His ears were ringing from the latest blast of some vessel slipping into the tight harbor. Whoever she was, she was being very loud! Normandie looked very subdued, the destroyers even more so. No wonder as Bluenose was still glaring at them. Carraway had no idea what they did to make the schooner that angry and he decided he really didn't want to know. Tang was doing her best to keep at attention but it was difficult as she was constantly resisting the urge to steal something off his desk.

Carrway started his rant by lecturing the submarine. "A dishwasher, an entire set of fine china, a kribbage board, enough food to feed a small army, and everything else but the kitchen sink! You are to return everything you stole back to the supermarket, today!"

Tang flushed bright red but agreed, knowing better than to argue with her Admiral. Carrway turned to Normandie. "Four whole shelves destroyed. What did I tell you about leashing destroyers?"

"To do it tighter?" Normandie asked.

"That would be what Olympia told you." Carraway deadpanned.

She sighed. "To not to sir."

"Why?"

"Because they get even more, rambunctious and naughty when they are leashed." Normandie replied.

"Exactly. Cleanup duty for two weeks."

Normandie didn't argue. Carraway focused on the remaining delinquents. Looking at Bluenose he had to work to push down his sympathy. She had done the best she could to wrangle the crazy pair of DDs in front of her. Still, it was on her advice that Normandie had leashed them.

"Port watch for a week." Carraway told her and she agreed. "Now get out of here." He told all of them.

Just then another ear-splitting horn blast rattled the windows, shook the office to its foundations and rattled loose Carraway's fragile temper. Shooting a glare cold enough to freeze ice at the girls he growled "And go find out who is making all that noise!"

They all had no trouble obeying his command.

Tang went off to follow her admiral's command and return her stolen items back to the supermarket. Bluenose went into the drydocks to be with Thebaud as she had done for every waking hour (and sometimes non-waking hours) since her counterpart had been put in the dock. Neunzer and Davis, happy to be free of the schooner's harsh discipline ran to rejoin their Canadian friends to do, whatever it was that destroyers did. Normandie decided she really didn't want to know.

Having nothing better to do she wondered over to the docks to check on Titanic. Her wounds had been repaired, now Bridgeport was converting her to an AMC. Her work was nearly done, it was just a matter of cosmetics now. Normandie nearly jumped out of her skin as, again that horn sounded. Her radar worked overtime to try and pinpoint the sound. Such a loud horn meant a rather large ship. Her lookouts identified what appeared to be a red funnel poking out from behind the trees on the far side of the river bend. "Hmph, probably hit the sandbar. Oh well." Normandie really was not in the mood to care.

Distracted as she was she forgot one of the most important rules when entering the docks. Going in, one always expected a lack of decency from the girls in the baths. Either they had a skimpy swimsuit on, or nothing at all. The latter was most likely the case with Titanic. Not that Normandie cared. She was French and she would be lying if she said that the thought of seeing Titanic naked didn't excite her a bit. Still, the older liner was big on propriety and it was just a polite thing to do. It at least gave the repair ships a brief heads up that someone was coming inside.

Normandie forgot that memo and went in without knocking. And promptly nearly stumbled over herself in shock. "How," She stammered. "Are you even here?!"

'You' was a dark redhead with pale blue eyes. She had olive colored skin only lightly tanned from the last time she was in the Med. Her skinny jeans and "New York is my Second Home" T-shirt formed well with her figure. A figure that bore the hallmarks of Chantiers built ship. Normandie should know. She was taller than Normandie by several inches and the French liner felt a pang of jealousy when she realized that the other girl's assets outweighed hers! Probably literally! Seeing her with her 'kanmusu eyes' revealed a structure that held 18 decks, six more than her. On the top deck sat two pools for cruising in warmer weather and a massive dome hid a planetarium for seeing the stars out at sea. The wartime environment had given her a radar set to rival any modern warships'. The traditional black hull was now dazzle gray. Normandie wasn't sure why the dazzle was necessary. Wartime gray worked just fine. But she had to admit that the patterns looked nice on her. So here was another line who clearly outclassed her in every way, hanging over a sleeping Titanic like a lovesick puppy and that just wouldn't do! Normandie felt her steam lines heating up.

As surely as Normandie was looking her competition over, so was the competition doing the same. For her part Mary was secretly impressed. Normandie was a classic liner, something that Mary could never be despite how hard she tried. The influence of cruising was just too strong, too ingrained in her to ever give her 'purity'. Liners like Normandie, her mother, and her aunt were true liners. That Mary didn't consider herself a true liner was not something she talked about. It was a failing she kept hidden. She pushed that aside for the moment and allowed her jealousy at Normandie's pure lines, her gorgeous three stacks, and her perfectly flared bow come to the forefront.

Thus Mary's response to Normandie's question was as blunt as her bulbous bow. "I came to say high."

"That is not what I meant!" Normandie's flustered response confirmed Mary's suspicions. The older liner had been looking quite intently at her rack. Mary couldn't help but preen a little, delighting in seeing how Normandie became increasingly red faced. She was going to burst a steam pipe at this rate.

"I just, disembarked via a tender." Mary shrugged.

"But your hull is afloat!" Normandie protested.

"Last time I checked." Mary shrugged. "By the way, I'd appreciate it if you could get some tugs out there. I uh, may have misjudged that corner a bit and got introduced to a sandbar."

Normandie, despite being clearly confused, burst out laughing. Mary pouted but seeing that the older ship was surely as jealous as her as she was likewise, she let her have it.

"Okay, I'm gonna phrase this as nicely and and clearly as possible." Normandie began once she'd stopped chortling. "How can you leave your hull?"

Mary knew what she was asking and it gave her pause. She really didn't know. QE2 could do it as well. Little Liz could too. A fact which consistently rankled Victoria who could not, despite how hard she tried. She was also not as easily seen by her crew. Mary never had to work at that, even before the war broke out. And stories from her mother confirmed that the first Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth had just as much freedom of movement. Seeing no way to turn her answer into something irritating, Mary gave the most honest response she could give. "I have honestly no idea. I've always been able to do it."

"Always as in...?" Normandie frowned.

"Before the war. Hell since I was built. My earliest memories are wondering around the shipyard and constantly getting under the foreman's skin! Oh he was so glad to be rid of me." Mary giggled.

"I can imagine." Normandie deadpanned.

"Hey!" Once again Mary was left pouting as Normandie laughed. The older girl kept getting one up on her but she was pure French. Mary had spent her whole life with the British. She had no hope of matching Normandie's skill in amour!

Neither girl was aware that a third member had joined their conversation until a weak and tired voice rasped "Mary? What are you doing here?"

Mary immediately put her full attentions on Titanic while Normandie couldn't take it any more. A burst of steam erupted from her ears as one of her pipes failed. She howled with laughter. Mary groaned, knowing she would have to put up with the French liner's teasings from now on while Titanic just looked very confused.

Chapter 19: Chapter 19~ Sea Trials 2.0

Chapter Text

Titanic never thought she would feel herself sailing like this again. She also never thought she would miss it this much. The feeling of power that surged through her as her engines came online, as clean and new as they were when she was first launched, was indescribable.

Fairy!Smith stood on her bridge, enjoying the feeling of the wind across his face. "OIII!!" He shouted. (Let's go to sea my boys!)

Titanic laughed her agreement. Deep within her hull, her crew manned their positions, shoveling coal into her boilers. At some point she would be converted to oil but not yet. The bell was rung.

"Full ahead!"

The stokers shoveled the coal into her hungry furnaces, leading fireman shouting obscenities in an effort to make the men work faster.

"Come on you (REDACTED). We stoke her right up, we go full ahead!!" Fairy!Barret shouted.

Fairy!Bell answered the bridge's command by moving the dial indicator on his gauge in reply. "Full ahead!" He called simply, not at all surprised by the command. He had been anticipating it since his ship had put to sea. She had been denying herself for so long and now fully repaired and fresh out of the drydock; Titanic, he felt was eager to stretch her legs.

He watched his gauges, seeing the pressure rising gradually. The regulating valve was opened, allowing steam into the turbine for the center screw. It came online adding a sudden burst of speed to the ship. The massive reciprocating engines that drove Titanic's wing propellers made a loud thump on each downstroke, like an exhale almost and that rhythm was picking up as was the steam pressure.

75 psi, the rhythm had definitely accelerated, Titanic's stride beginning to lengthen as she navigated her way outside the confines of the harbor.

150 psi, the stern dug in, screws biting at the water with a vengeance causing the bow to rise slightly. On a smaller ship it might be more noticeable, a magnificent rooster tail of water that soaked the aft deck but for Titanic it was a mere afterthought.

The gauge hit its limits, Titanic's stride extended as far as it could go. Her bow dropped and she practically pulled the rest of her along. Ahead of her, Macon waved, correctly identifying her as a friendly. Titanic waved back, testing the effectiveness of her rudder as she turned hard one way, then the other. She did almost a full circle before commanding a stop at the harbor entrance.

Olympia was waiting for her and crossing her arms and smirking the cruiser said "I always knew you had it in you. I just never thought I'd get to see it."

"I cannot thank you enough. You and Normandie both." Titanic said.

"Then thank me properly and we'll call it even." Normandie's smirk left no doubts as to what she meant as she sailed up. Titanic's blush simply sealed the deal for Olympia who quickly bugged out of there. Some things one didn't need to see.

"I'm far older than you." Titanic pointed out.

"You don't look it." Normandie shrugged.

"Olympic will f*cking murder your corpse when she returns." Titanic said.

"I'm faster than she is, she can try!"

Titanic sighed. "There is no dissuading you is there?" She asked.

"I'm French, hello!!"

Titanic rolled her eyes and carefully moved forward to where her bow was gently touching Normandie's side. "Normandie, will you do me the honor of kissing me?" She asked.

"It would be a pleasure mon cheri Titanic." Normandie replied as she did just that.

She was uncertain how her manuever would be taken but judging by the way Titanic leaned into the kiss, not to mention the way her tongue entwined with the French liner's. it was safe for Normandie to say she was enjoying it!

Chapter 20: Chapter 20~ Ghosts in California

Summary:

Queen Mary makes an appearance.

Chapter Text

Everett Hoard, unofficially Captain pinched the bridge of his nose as he finally was able to set his bags on the couch in his little flat and relax. After the official summonings of Olympia and SS United States, people were beginning to pay more attention to kanmusu. Especially here in California where the people were, not insane but a tad below normal. The state's budget alloted for a total of five summoning attempts to be made. Hoard had thought the people would give up after the first few tries. But then they ended up getting Iowa somehow with Midway following soon after. And for some reason, despite the battleship's uncouth manners and penchant for finding trouble shoreside, it encouraged Sacramento to offer more funding. Hoard had just returned from that meeting. Not for the first time he questioned the military's strategy on fighting this war. Just sic the Budget Committee on the Abyssals and the fighting would be over in no time.

"Bloody sharks." He muttered to himself.

"Tell me aboot it." said a voice.

Hoard whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice but he didn't see anyone. "Okay, I'm either dreaming or this is a hallucination." he muttered to himself.

"Na, na hallucination." The voice reassured him. It had a beautifully refined Scottish accent.

"Then what? Why can't I see you? Are you hiding somewhere?" He looked around, hoping to find someone, anyone near him.

"A'm richt neist tae ye captain. 'n' ah aye wull be." The voice reassured him.

It was obviously a woman's voice, tendered with age a bit. Hoard thought he felt a brush of cold air past him.

"Are you a ghost?" He asked. It was, since the war began, not the strangest thing he'd ever asked.

"Whit an interesting quaistion, sur. Ah dae nae hawp a'm a ghost as a'm gey muckle alive." She replied.

"Then why can't I see you?" Hoard was getting increasingly nervous, looking around him

"That is something ah hae ne'er bin able tae figure oot. Whiles fowk kin hear me bit th' ne'er see me." She sounded sad.

"I'm sorry. At least I'm talking to you." Hoard tried to reassure her. For some reason he felt compelled to comfort her.

"'n' ye hae mah cheers fur that, captain."

"You said you've been with me. How long have you been with me?" He wondered.

"Sin ye teuk command sur. It's mah duty tae bade wi' mah captain."

It was hard to filter through that Scottish accent but Hoard felt he got it.

"You're bound to me." He said. "Are you a kanmusu?"

"A kanmusu, heavens! I-I hawp ah micht be, bit kanmusu kin be seen kin thay nae. Howfur cuid ah be a kanmusu if ye cannae see me?" She wondered.

Once again there was that cold feeling and this time Hoard shivered. "Whatever it is you're doing, I still cannot see you." He said.

"Why?!" She wailed. "Ah kin be heard easily, felt easily. Understaun, listened tae whiles even. Bit a'm seendle seen. 50 years a've leed in California."

"What's your name?" Hoard asked softly. He asked the question even though he was beginning to feel like he already knew the answer.

There was another brush of cold wind and when it passed he felt warmth pressing against his side, his cheek. He opened his eyes and looked into a pair of green ones, framed by bushy red locks. A pair of pale hands, slightly tanned by the Californian sun, grasped his own, delicate long fingers entwining with his. "Mary, Queen Mary."

Hoard looked up at her in astonishment and no small amount of affection. She was his charge after all and had been for the last several years. She was a head taller than him and sported a lithe fit figure benefiting a card carrying member of the Blue Riband club.

"Of course you are." He said softly, a thumb rubbing the back of one of her hands affectionately.

She gasped. "Ye kin see me?" She asked.

"I don't know how you did it but I can, quite clearly. You are beautiful." He replied and she blushed.

Their moment was broken when Hoard's wife entered the room. Seeing her husband locked hands with a beautiful lady, her face flushed red.

"EVERETT HOARD, JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

..............................................

The Scottish translator I used can be found here: English to Scottish Slang Translator - Scotranslate

Chapter 21: Interlude Rivals

Summary:

Normandie travels to California. Oh dear....

Chapter Text

Normandie grinned to herself as she left the terminal at Long Beach International Airport. She was still a bit shaky from her flight over from New Jersey but the solid ground beneath her feet and the ocean breeze blowing in her face did wonders to soothe her upset stomach and ease the discomforts of her journey. For all her keenness to experience human functions she would be quite happy to never set foot on a plane again. Oil fuel did not taste good the second time around.

She was quite proud of her whistles. The engineers at Chantiers had done a marvelous job of making sure they held just the right note. The cab responded to her call instantly and she quickly got in, summarizing her destination in two simple words. A name. The name of her beloved rival. She fingered the blue ribbon in her hair. Mary had a temper to match her Scottish red hair and was very easily flustered. Normandie, having years of experience with her, knew just the right buttons to push. The ribbon was just one way to make her blush. Mary was so cute when she did that. During their races, Normandie would often find herself fascinating over the British liner. If she wasn't in a relationship already she'd all too happily resume her flirtatious with Mary.

Her thoughts turned to current lover. Titanic was in many ways, much like Mary. Both were British. Both had high toned mannerisms that sometimes came across as too cold and formal for Normandie's tastes. Both had a very dry sense of humor although Normandie had yet to see how exposure to Hollywood had loosened Mary's tongue. And both were very easy to tease. Normandie smiled as she recalled just that morning at breakfast. Titanic had gotten a bit of yogurt on her nose and Normandie had leaned over, wiped it off with her thumb and licked it up. Titanic's face quickly turned the shade of her hair and a flustered "N-Normandie" escaped her lips. Normandie spent the last hour before her departure from the base, "apologizing" for her blunder. Titanic had wanted to come with her but thanks to a last minute appearance by Becuna, in the middle of a ceremony on Constitution no less! Followed by most every item of the brass "disappearing", Normandie's commanding officer had to do damage control. Both with the brass and keep Olympia from riding the shafts out of the wayward submarine before she could bring her back to the base. Normandie did not envy her.

"We're here ma'am." The driver said.

Thanking him, Normandie pulled out a wad of American cash from her holds, silently thanking her pursers for keeping her well stocked on foreign currency, and peeled off a crisp twenty. Then she bounded away, setting her bows on the large hulk directly in front of her. The little submarine moored alongside barely registered to Normandie although she could feel the her eyes on her.

Mary was at her usual spot, enjoying the California sunshine with a cooler fully stocked next to her to stave off the persistent heat. "Mary." Scorpion called her name.

Mary looked at where her friend was pointing. Her special senses told her immediately that the woman walking towards them was a kanmusu. She knew the United States as well as several other country's including her own, had been summoning vessels to counteract the Abyssal threat. Although she had yet to see one with her own eyes. The bulk of them were military assets and were stationed either in San Diego or up north in San Francisco. The Mare Island yards had been reactivated there for the war effort and served as a base and repair facility for the girls.

Mary observed the one now coming towards her. Her human form was beautiful, typical of kanmusu, and Mary couldn't help but stare at her rack. She wasn't envious as she herself had assets to match. She was simply staring in the manner of a woman contemplating and analyzing the competition. Looking past that for a moment, Mary allowed herself to take in the other's ship form. The gray hull was an instant giveaway to a warship although the whaleback on the bow was a bit surprising. The amount of flare to her front end reminded Mary somewhat of the new British carrier although she wasn't pleased with her sister's name being given to the upstart, not that she had anything against the carrier herself. Liz was a very sweet girl, from the little Mary had spoken to her the few times she'd pulled in here.

But back to the newcomer. Mary saw the covered top deck and wasn't surprised she was dealing with a carrier. She was slightly bigger than she herself was. The height difference (in kanmusu LOA translates to height) was minimal, not even a full inch but Mary could tell. Even the big battleships that used to come here, and Mary had never forgotten nor forgiven Iowa for her antics that one time, were a head shorter. She continued her observations, spotting the number 53 emblazoned on both sides of the carrier's bow. What was it with Americans and painting yard numbers on their ships like some tattoo? Now Mary doubted 53 was the ship's actual yard number, more like her designation number but still. Using that number as her guide, Mary let her eyes travel over the rest of her. The other ship played to her whims and slowed, turning so she was more side on. A flirtatious grin on her face. Mary couldn't hide her gasp even if she tried. She had her suspicions when she first spotted her but now she knew. She'd know that profile anywhere! Those gorgeous three funnels, lacking their vibrant red paint but still beautiful.

Mary leaped from her chair and sprinted across the parking lot, grabbing her in a tight hug and spinning her around. "NORMANDIE!!" She squealed joyfully.

Normandie didn't fight her. She too relished the contact but it was a bit too constricting. "Ah Mary, mon ami ease off the horsepower a little bit, s'il te plaît."

Mary eeped and let go when she realized. "Ah, sorry." She replied.

Normandie chuckled, rubbing her arms and smiled. "It's alright. I understand. You missed me didn't you?" She asked, pushing her hair back cheekily.

Mary blushed. Knowing the other ship was teasing her but although she'd never admit it, she'd missed being teased and decided to play along. "No I did not miss you, you wine drinking cheese eating harlot!"

"You missed me~" Normandie sang, effortlessly dancing out of the way as Mary made to grab her again.

Scorpion did not help matters. The submarine launched into a round of teasing of her own. "MARY AND NORMANDIE PARKED ON THE BEACH. K-I-S-S...." That was as far as she got before Mary through an empty bottle at her. She got the hint and shut up.

Turning back to Normandie a bit more calmly now, Mary sighed and said "Yeah I did miss you."

Instead of flaunting the fact Mary had admitted it, Normandie gently took her hands in her own. "I missed you too, mon petit coureur."

Mary blushed and pulled her into a hug, a gentler one this time and Normandie happily submitted to it. After a few seconds, Mary spotted the ribbon in Normandie's hair and pushed her back. "Normandie, what is that in your hair?" She asked, an edge in her voice.

Normandie grinned. "You like it?"

"I'd like you to take it out!"

"You'll have to catch me first." Normandie turned her bows to the harbor. Oh the harbormaster was going to raise hell for this and both ships would find themselves in front of an irate Admiral Briggs at the end of the day but it was so worth it!

Scorpion watched, extremely amused as she handed out drinks to all the people who came out to watch the spectacle (Mary's habits were wearing off on her). Normandie was sprinting laps around the harbor, causing all kinds of chaos while Mary was hard on her heels, practically nipping at her stern. Furious curses erupted from the British liner while Normandie laughed and delivered replies in French that made Mary blush and swear harder.

Chapter 22: Chapter 21~ Reunion

Chapter Text

Admiral Carroway nursed the growing headache he had developed since Normandie reported in to him over two weeks ago. Apparently Queen Mary had self-summoned and it was Normandie’s job to escort her to the base. But the liner, in her intimate (no not a typo) French wisdom, decided to interpret his orders as not taking a simple plane ride but instead the longer route. Thank god the canal had been widened in recent years. Even so, the pair were still at least a day out. He could still hear Titanic’s howls of jealousy.

Titanic had taken to the docks every morning since she heard of Mary’s summoning and muttering some very uncomplimentary things about the French’s bedroom habits in French. Carroway had a sneaking suspicion there was something more than just jealousy bothering her. Although most in command would tell him to ignore the feeling, Carroway had been commanding shipgirls for too long to dismiss it out of hand. Lest he increase his migraine medication.

A knock on his door and a Carroway groaned. He knew each shipgirl by their knock. He should have known better than to underestimate a card carrying member of the Blue Riband club, let alone two of them. “Enter.” He commanded.

Normandie came in and following her… “Staring is not becoming of a United States Navy admiral.” Carroway thought. It wasn’t so much Mary’s beauty that caused his lapse. All shipgirls possessed a natural draw to them. Instead, Holloway was struck by how much Mary’s human figure resembled Titanic’s. The two could almost pass as twins. Carroway felt his earlier suspicions rise.

“Big U?” He spoke to the third liner in the room who was watching her fellow Riband holders carefully.

She started when she was called. “Yes Admiral?”

“Find Titanic and bring her here.” He asked.

“At once sir.”

Once she had left, Carroway returned his attentions to the two liners. Some formalities had to be maintained. “Report.” He ordered.

Mary’s WW2 RNR uniform had a ridiculously short skirt that ruffled about her legs as she snapped to attention. “RMS Queen Mary reporting for duty sir!” She was very professional as was expected for such a prestigious ocean liner but as with all shipgirls there was a catch. Even sensible Olympia turned out to be not so sensible after all. Carroway shuddered. The noise complaints were still coming in. Who knew her submarine partner could be so loud.

A fresh knock and gathering what remained of his wits, Carroway straightened at his desk. “Enter.” He ordered. In swept Big U with all the hyperactive speed he had come to expect from her. Following more slowly and far more gracefully was Titanic.

The British liner looked professional as always. Carroway found her lack of antics refreshing although it probably helped to have been human for over a century. Sheesh wasn’t that a headache. Carroway’s poor summoning scientists were still scratching their heads at how a kanmusu could summon herself long before their was a war to fight. Then again it was the Titanic so…

“You called for me Admiral… oh.” Titanic stopped short when she saw Queen Mary. The older liner was clearly nervous and everyone shifted as they felt the tension in the room. Even Normandie took a step back.

Everyone that is except Queen Mary who for her part was eying Titanic in an appraising way. She tilted her head to the side as if she was thinking or perhaps browsing her memories, archives whatever it was called. Then her eyes widened and tears began to fall from them. “Mom?” She asked, almost in a whisper.

Normandie and Big U’s jaws dropped to the floor in perfect sync. Titanic’s eyes also teared up as she managed to reply in a choked up whisper “Hello sweetie.”

Carroway had a surge of sympathy for his summoning scientists who were sure to reside in a mental asylum after this. He also felt his headache transform into a migraine and made a note to increase his medication ASAP. Seeing how Titanic held out her arms, clearly nervous and unsure how to proceed but Mary plowing right into it with such force it nearly knocked the older liner over, Carroway decided his migraines were worth it.

Chapter 23: Interlude Guardian Mo

Chapter Text

Arizona hated this day. She always hated it. Sleep, a hard commodity for her to use even at the best of times, was impossible for three whole days if you counted the day before and the day after. This time was no different. Currently having been up for nearly 48 hours now, Arizona was kneeling next to a stone slab that served as a memorial for those fallen in WW2. At Richardson's request, the list was expanded to include her fallen crew. Nearby, New Jersey and her sisters were practicing their gunnery. Every once in a while, the old standard could hear their guns go off at the range, followed by some very creative cursing. Apparently New Jersey wasn't the only one who swore like a sailor. Hardly any ship had come near her since yesterday although that may have been because Pennsylvania had taken to shooing away anyone who tried and by anyone, I mean Japanese.

Arizona rested a hand over her cheek, the other placed protectively over her precious donuts. She had selected them carefully, examining each one for any imperfections. Such beautiful works of art needed to be just right and these ones would serve well as her offering.

Eighty years, for her it felt like much less than that. Only a handful had passed since her summoning, the rest were spent in that icy dungeon where time held no meaning. Sometimes she wondered why she was still like this. It wasn't as though her friends hadn't suffered too. So many of them had it much worse. Mutsu, destroyed by her own crew. Nagato, annihilated by the power of the atom. Kaga, Akagi, witnesses to their own nation's atrocities before Arizona's fleetmates showed them mercy. "She f*cking killed you 'Zona." New Jersey's astonished whisper was like so many others. Her fleet could never understand why she pitied her former enemy. And, if she were being honest, she didn't want them to. Although a part of her wished she couldn't as well. She pushed it aside. She had witnessed what that path led to and she had no desire to go through it again. For her crew's sake if nothing else.

So absorbed in her own thoughts was she, that she failed to notice footsteps behind her. Until a hand rested on her shoulder. Startled, Arizona looked up. Dark skin, black dreadlocks and a build that would rival even the most well toned bodybuilder meant it could only be Missouri.

"Finished playing with your sisters?" Arizona asked.

"I called it early. Wanted to see how you were doing." Missouri replied.

"I'm fine. You can go and do whatever it was you were playing at." Arizona said.

"Hmm." Missouri didn't move away. In fact her grip tightened momentarily on Arizona's shoulder as she lowered herself down next to the standard. "You know, if you want to talk..."

"I don't." Arizona didn't mean to come off snappish, especially not to Missouri. The Iowa-class was her guardian. Somehow, through MSSB, Arizona had sensed it when she was summoned. A feeling of peace, as though a missing part of her was restored. That feeling had only intensified once Missouri arrived in Japan. She hardly let Arizona out of her sight, or at least beyond her radar range. Normally the standard would've found this annoying but she didn't mind it so much with Missouri.

"Yes it is kind of hard to talk when you don't know what to think." Missouri said softly, not at all offended.

Curious, Arizona turned to her. The battleship continued. "You know when I went down I took my whole crew with me. Not a single one made it out. Not like Whisky." Arizona winced. She at least had survivors, a handful of whom were still alive today. And yes Whisky had gone down like any battleship should, swinging like a badass and making it very clear to anyone listening that her crew were off limits.

"New Jersey says I was a hero, going down like I did but... well my point is, I get it Ari. I don't really know what to think either."

Arizona sighed and for the first time that day, she looked up at her guardian and smiled. "Thanks Mo."

"Anytime."

Chapter 24: Chapter 22~ Overprotective Mothers are, Annoying

Chapter Text

Olympia considered herself to be a very insightful person but even she was blind sighted. Queen Mary was Titanic’s daughter?! If it wasn’t for the fact that she knew shipgirls could have children (thanks Wash) Olympia would’ve no doubt gone to the mental asylum right with the summoning scientists. Their replacements were a bit more, nerdy. And had taken to pestering mother and daughter continuously on how the nine hells it could’ve happened in the first place.

Poor Titanic looked so uncomfortable at the briefing. Briefing yeah right. What it really was, was Admiral Carroway desperately attempting to give their girls the ‘bird and the bees’ talk/sex Ed before this inevitably blew up in their faces.

Olympia snigg*red to herself. At the rate she and Becuna were going, one of them was going to end up with a bun in the oven. Oh what a headache that would be for Admiral Carroway. Someone more sensible might have been sympathetic to the man but Olympia was a kanmusu and she would be failing in her duty if she did not contribute to the insanity.

She looked down at the submarine sleeping on their shared bed, wrapped in blankets and snuggled beside her. Becuna was a precious gift that she did not intend to waste. Setting her book down, Olympia reached up and turned out the light. Then she settled back down and wrapped her arms tightly around her precious charge. She fell asleep soon after.

Meanwhile Queen Mary was facing her mother who stood on the opposite side of the room. She was leaning nonchalantly against the wall with her arms and feet crossed. Titanic was pacing back and forth getting more and more agitated as she did so. Normandie sat on the bed and while she remained motionless and said nothing her eyes were dancing with amusem*nt.

“The seas are filled with Abyssal submarines. It was just luck you and Normandie weren’t killed. And don’t try and tell me you could outrun them. Those things took out Wisconsin for crying out loud! And you want to risk going all the way to Australia?! Absolutely not!!”

“I’m not a child mother!” Queen Mary would absolutely deny she was pouting. Both British liners knew that Mary’s experience as a fast transport would be invaluable and with the planned Australian offensive in the spring… She was necessary. Unfortunately her mother had a seriously overprotective streak. And if stubbornness was an inherited trait, then Queen Mary had her work cut out for her.

“You are my child! And I will not have you undertake such a dangerous journey alone!” Titanic growled.

“She won’t be alone.” Normandie cut in.

“Of course she will.” Titanic’s tone spoke of permanent banishment to the couch if Normandie continued her present course. “You’re needed here. United States is busy reinforcing Europe. And I don’t have anywhere near the speed.”

Normandie raised a brow, unimpressed. She leaned back against the headboard and crossed her arms. Her partner simply stared back at her, the gears turning in her head.

“Unless,” Titanic began and Normandie nodded a small smirk on her face. “There’s something you’re not telling me.” The why she gestured to Queen Mary said this was a plural you.

………………………………………

Meanwhile at the Naval Base in Brest there was a quiet knock on the door. It startled the liner inside but she quickly snapped to attention. “Is it time?” She asked.

Ensign Elizabeth Cye of the Royal Marines and assigned to France as a leiason, dipped her head in reply. “Teste is standing by to escort you out to sea.”

The liner’s grin was not bloodthirsty but it wasn’t entirely kind either. “Excellent.” She brushed past the Ensign with nary another word. She’d been cooped up for too long. A liner was meant to sail the open seas. And while the war prevented her from getting all the joys out of life, Liberte would do her utmost to enjoy it. She’d been given a third chance. She was not about to squander it.

Chapter 25: Chapter 23~ Levels of Frenchiness

Chapter Text

Liberte was pleased when the American coastline finally came into view. Not that she was worried mind you. She was a Blue Riband holder. She was designed to outrun anything above or beneath the seas. But she wouldn't deny she had felt some relief upon seeing Hindenburg some 300 miles ago. The larger airship was since joined by two more, Akron and Makon her mind supplied, and the three maintained a continuous air cover around the giant liner. If there was any Abyssal submarine nearby, it would think twice about attacking.

As Liberte got closer to shore she began to make out more details besides the blotches of green interspersed with grays and yellows. New York had changed much and yet very little at the same time. It was still the same magnificent metropolis it had always been, just bigger. A pair of ships came out to greet her as she passed the Statue of Liberty, rendering honors as she did so. One was an old cruiser, Great White Fleet era if Liberte was not mistaken. But the other... she gasped when she recognized her. How could she not? That profile, although painted drab wartime gray, was as familiar to her as any other of her fleetmates.

"MON AMI!!" She could hardly believe it. She redlined her engines and threw herself into the other's arms, kissing her soundly on both cheeks.

"Bonjour petit ami! ça fait trop longtemps." Normandie replied, wrapping her arms around the other liner.

"I'm 49,000 tons. I'm not little." Liberte pouted.

"And I'm 83,000." Normandie pouted out.

"Touche. Oh tu m'as manqué, Normandie."

"Tout comme moi, petite. Tu dois tout me dire."

Liberte reluctantly let go and the two sailed side by side towards Olympia. The cruiser knew her limitations. There was no sense in trying to catch up to the eccentric liner. Nonetheless, she kept close tabs on the pair as they approached. Olympia was well traveled. There were few places in the world she hadn't visited or at least heard of. And she knew all sorts of languages as a result. French was one of many she was fluent in. Her radiomen picked up the conversations.

"Et Dunkerque, elle est épris de cette enseigne britannique." Liberte was saying.

Olympia wasn't sure what disturbed her more. The way Liberte was describing her fleetmate's love interest or the glint in Normandie's eyes.

"Elle s'appelle Elizabeth Cye et elle est à Brest depuis le début de la guerre. Dunkerque ne peut pas la quitter des yeux." Liberte giggled.

"Is there a bet on how long before they consummate?" Normandie switched to English as the pair drew within normal hearing range. Her question had the cruiser blushing bright red.

Liberte's smirk had the hallmarks of Bluenose's pranking grin, Olympia noted. "Naturally. We are French, mon ami!"

Olympia sighed and put on her best welcome face. "Hello, welcome to New York..."

"You must be Olympia!" Liberte acted like an excited American as she raced up to the cruiser and gave her the same big hug she had given Normandie, complete with the dual kiss on the cheeks.

One finished, she turned back to her companion. "So who's your mon amour?" She asked.

"Liberte!" Normandie protested, blushing.

"You have been away from France too long mon ami! Come, pray tell Auntie Liberte all about your exploits." Normandie's answering grin was all the excuse Olympia needed to bug out of there.

She joined Titanic and Queen Mary on the quayside. "I would avoid them for the foreseeable future. Unless you want your ears and brain to be permanently damaged."

Titanic made a face while Mary only sighed. She was used to French insanity by now. Apparently her mother, while sleeping with said French insanity, had not fully adjusted to it. "Do I even want to know?" the younger British liner asked.

"Well if there were levels to Frenchiness I would put Normandie at a four." Olympia said. "Liberte is a full blown f*cking ten!"

"Well she was always a bit eccentric." Mary sighed.

Normandie was offering detailed answers to all of Liberte's questions. Titanic, thankfully was not fluent in French so had no idea just what the two liners were discussing. But judging from Mary's disgusted but resigned expression she had a pretty good idea. What was more disturbing though was Olympia. Despite her deepening blush, the cruiser had a thoughtful look on her face. Titanic said a brief but fervent prayer for Becuna's shafts while making a note to add caffeine to her diet. Hearing the exploits of other couples made Normandie very eager and Titanic would need to keep up tonight.

Translations:
"Hello my little friend. It has been too long."
"Oh, I missed you Normandie."
"As did I, little one. You must tell me everything."
"And Dunkerque, she is smitten with this British ensign."
"Her name is Elizabeth Cye and she's been in Brest since the start of the war. Dunkerque can't keep her eyes off her."

Chapter 26: Chapter 24~ Spotting the Princess

Chapter Text

Tang was a submarine. She enjoyed the opportunity given to her. To be free of the confines of a fleet and command. Carroway's orders had been simple. Scout, locate, report. Shoot only if she could escape. Now Tang hadn't earned her reputation as the Navy's top scoring submarine for no reason. She remembered the good old days, when she could go out and find a juicy Japanese merchantmen to stuff herself on. They made such good meals for her fish. Sometimes their terrified screams as well as those of their crews would come to her at night. But like she did then Tang shrugged them off. She believed and still believed like her crew did that those screams canceled those from Pearl Harbor. Tang had not been born when Battleship Row was attacked but she remembered the stories Tautog told her. And the feelings her crew felt when reminded of the event. She felt no pity for the Japanese. Nor did she hold a grudge. She readily accepted the war had ended. It had to after all, in no small part thanks to her sisters. And she'd satisfied her revenge for her fellow subs deaths long ago. Now she had a new enemy to fight. After being idle for so long in that frozen wasteland she was itching to stick her fish up some helpless merchantman's stern.

She was sitting on the surface, the foul weather doing wonders at disguising her although she could do without the consisting dousing. Her batteries needed charging though. Her radar picked up several contacts and they were close barely 5 miles away. The storm had hidden them until they were nearly on top of her. She checked her gauges. She had half charge. It would have to do. Opening all vents she dove steeply, leveling off at a depth where her periscope could just breach the surface. Her sonar detected multiple high speed screws, all on top of one another. A convoy, it must be.

Controlling her excitement Tang acted like the professional she was and scanned the horizon for a sighting. It was through only the barest of escapes that she hid her gasp. Rare had she assumed wrong in her career. Convoy was not the right word for what she was seeing now. It was an Abyssal Task Force being led by the Lone Princess. Tang recognized her profile immediately. So similar to Titanic's. Then again, the Lone Princess was the twisted reincarnation of her sister. Olympic's beautiful lines still showed through. She wore the same dazzle scheme she had become famous for in Halifax. Tang could make out the 4.7 inch gun on her bow.

The submarine quickly moved onto the escorts. 2 destroyers, 3 cruisers and that same blasted Ne-class that was behind the assault on Theabaud. Tang would have gladly taken a shot at her but they were moving too quickly and the foul weather severely hampered the submarine's ability to get a good fix on them. Reluctantly she slammed her bow doors shut and turned away, moving south at low speed to avoid detection. She wasn't sure what these Abyssals had in terms of ASW equipment and she had no desire to find out the hard way.

Once she was a good distance away and the chill from their evil aura had ceased seeping into her frame, Tang surface and contacted base. "Lakehurst, this is USS Tang. I've spotted the Lone Princess in formation with one Ne-class, two destroyers that appear to be Fletcher's and 3 cruisers. One Portland-class and 2 County-class. Course 110, speed 20 knots."

"This is Lakehurst, acknowledged Tang, return to base." Tang was too ashamed to admit it outloud but she was grateful for the command. There was something about the Lone Princess' aura, that even for an Abyssal, felt wrong. She set her course back to the safety of New York Harbor and wondered to herself how Titanic would take seeing this corrupted version of her sister.

Chapter 27: Chapter 25~ Being Carroway is Suffering

Chapter Text

Admiral Carroway was more than used to the insanity that came with managing kanmusu. Or so he thought. Walking into the briefing room he was treated to quite the sight. Liberte and Normandie were deep into a game of tic tac toe although they were using lipstick instead of pens to draw their marks. Titanic was next to Queen Mary who was frowning like a classic teenager who had been told her curfew had been shortened by an hour. Another talk about her upcoming trip to Australia most likely. Titanic made helicopter moms look like little schooners compared to her. United States was fiddling with one of her hastily mounted guns on her rigging, no doubt still adjusting to the feel of it. Hindenburg and the other two airships were offering pointers not that their advise was particularly helpful. The destroyers and schooners were in a competition to see how many of Liberte's freshly baked pastries they could stuff in each other's mouths. At the moment, Bluenose appeared to be winning with 30 croissants bulging in her cheeks. Refereeing or trying to as she was laughing too hard to speak much were Becuna and Tang. Olympia was seated nearby, sparing disapproving glances at the submarines. She had a notebook out and ready. Fairies lined the desk around her in a similar position. Carroway noted Normandie's own fairies were also covering the desk although they appeared to be in the middle of a costume contest with Liberte's fairies.

Thankfully, before Carroway could fully process this insanity, Bluenose noticed him, although her voice was muffled through the pastries crowding her mouth. "ATTENFION ON DECK FT!" She struggled to swallow the goodies while everyone stood as the admiral entered.

"As you were." He waved a hand, deciding quickly to put aside what he had just seen. Normandie and Liberte put their game away and paid close attention. Carroway operated the projector. Everyone stifled a gasp at the image that appeared on the screen.

"This, is the Lone Princess." He said, sparing a glance at Titanic. The liner had her hands balled into fists and she was literally shaking. Queen Mary rested a hand on her shoulder. "Mom."

Titanic however was too angry to hear her. "W̵̖̟̳̮̣͂͌͂̅̓ḫ̵̞̙̼̣̱̈͑̿̇̋ä̶̧̛̙̤͓̹̳̙̳̐̇̈͆̈́̏t̸̛̫̼̥̤̀͊̉͠ͅ ̵̱̞͚̟͛̒͑̐̏̉i̴̼̪̖̯̮̼͒̚s̸̛̠̠̗̐̑̓͂̽̉̉̅͝ ̵̭̘̲̩͍̿͌̐͘ţ̶̳̰̩͚̭̏̈́̓̑͛̐͜h̵͔͙̞̀i̶̛͖͖̬̳̖̰͒̕ş̵̼͉̩͔̰̻͔͙̅̍̾̔̈́͝ ̷̯̤͖̞͕̫͛̋̅̄̚ͅâ̸̧̱̬͚̼͈͓͚͊͊͌̑̆b̷̳̝̘͍̦͍̙̹̮̝̿̑ǒ̴̱͕̟̈̎͂͛̚͝m̷̤̭̲͙̮͈̖̑͂̍͗̎͘i̵̬̗̰̺͗n̷̢̪̘̳̠̗͚͙̫̗͗̈́å̸̩̌̋̉̑͆̂t̷̢̡̛̥͖̼̗͊̈́͆͛̈̈́̓͝͝i̷̧̯̻̞̞̠ơ̴͇̯̻̠͛̌͆͆̒͝n̷͎̻̲͍͍͂̓́͌̈́̑̏͜?̵̧̰̙̹̺̬̗͓̟͖͗̓" She snarled. Normandie and Liberte who were also close by shifted back.

Queen Mary however, despite how her own eyes flashed with fear, held her ground. Carroway's respect for her, already high as it was, went up even more. "Mom, I know it looks like Olympic but I promise you it isn't. She would never, become that."

Titanic took a deep breath, focused on her daughter and nodded. "Apologies Admiral Carroway." She said as she sat back down. Everyone relaxed as she did so.

"Completely understandable." Carroway assured her. "There are more images Titanic." He warned her.

With a glance at Queen Mary still pressed comfortingly against her side, Titanic offered a stiff nod. "The Lone Princess was behind the latest attack on this base. Although her forces have taken a pounding we believe she is building them back up. It is imperative we locate her base." Carroway explained.

"Do we have any leads as to where her base might be?" Olympia asked. The cruiser was no use in an assault but her many years plying the seas made her useful for strategy.

"Intel from Normandie during the Ne-class retreat suggests its somewhere to the northeast. Tang has recent evidence to back that up as well. Tang."

"Thank you admiral." Despite being in the spotlight the lanky submarine remained confident. She took the stand. "While out at sea on my first patrol in this command I came across what at first appeared to be a convoy. But now I'm convinced it was the Lone Princess being escorted." Tang flipped the projector to reveal the images she had taken of the task force.

There were a few whistles. "Damn that's a lot of firepower." Nuenzer whispered. The little Edsell-class was no match for a Fletcher but she was crazy enough to give it a try.

Next to her Davis was eying each of the ships carefully. "It's a lot less than I expected. I assume she's in need of a battleship or two."

"Perhaps that's why her course is set towards Greenland." Liberte mused. "We know the Northern Atlantic Princess is based there. It could be she's looking to take shelter or make a trade."

"That's what we think as well." Carroway said. "Good eye Liberte."

As the French liner blushed at the praise, Normandie spoke up. "Can Abyssals even form alliances?" She asked.

"Bismarck and Tirpitz did." Queen Mary pointed out.

"They're sister ships and surely are the exception." Normandie growled. "But these monsters don't have this level of coordination, do they?" She asked uncertainly.

"While the more corrupt ones might lack the intelligence to do so the more human versions have displayed this coordinating behavior in the past." Titanic said. She still looked shaken but Carroway had to admire her will as she forged ahead.

"If she is going to join forces with the Northern Atlantic Princess then can't we attack them both?" Hindenburg asked. She seemed oblivious to the way Liberte was staring at her. And the liner's gaze was not friendly.

Carroway sighed. "Not without help. The Northern Atlantic..."

"NAP." Bluenose called out.

"Beg pardon?" Carroway paused.

"Northern Atlantic Princess abbreviates to NAP right? Just saving you the trouble." The schooner said, oddly proud of herself.

"Right, NAP then." He sighed, ignoring a few snickers. "The NAP has at least four battleship that we know of based on our last intel. 5 battlecruisers and a hoard of destroyers. There also rumors of a carrier as well. But until these are confirmed I cannot authorize anything. So Tang,"

"Sir." The submarine looked at him. "You and Becuna will go back out, station yourselves off Greenland and observe. No shooting, not even at an easy target. This is for reconnaissance only."

"Yes sir." Tang couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Alright, dismissed." The shipgirls filed out, Liberte all but pushing past Hindenburg on the way out. Carroway called his star airship over. "If she's too much trouble I can talk to her."

"I can handle it sir. She has her reasons and I respect them." Hindenburg sighed. "I am, too German for her tastes. That symbol on my tailfin does not help matters."

"You're no Nazi Hindenburg."

"I said I can handle it." The airship huffed indignantly and Carroway spread his hands in defeat. Hindenburg retained her German stubbornness it appeared. With a dip of her head the airship was the last to fall out, Macon and Akron at her side as always. Despite her harshness, Hindenburg was fast becoming a momboat. Briefly the admiral wondered if he could put some money in the pool that was surely going around on how long before she realized this. Then he shook himself. He was becoming too much like his schooners. He needed a drink.

As Carroway left the briefing room and returned to his office he noticed two things. One was his massive coffee mug was missing and two, Constitution was standing there, and in her left hand, struggling to get away was a submarine Carroway hadn't seen before. "Admiral I got this thief trying to steal things off your desk."

Briefly Carroway wondered how the frigate managed to catch a submarine in the act but he pushed it aside. It was Constitution after all. MSSB seemed to flow through her. "You can let her go Connie." He said.

Constitution complied and released her death grip on the back of the submarine's swimsuit. The sub was skinnier than Tang or Becuna but shared Tang's black hair although her eyes were sparkling green. "What's your name subthief?" Carroway leaned over his desk and made himself appear as intimidating as possible. Constitution's glare which could rival Victory's most days no doubt helped.

The submarine yelped and snapped to attention, her bearing seriously impressive despite what she'd just been caught doing. "USS Wahoo SS-238 reporting sir!" She snapped off a picture perfect salute.

Carroway bit back a groan. Tang was bad enough at times. She and Wahoo together would be... oh well. Best get the pleasantries out of the way first before he crossed that bridge. He was vaguely aware of Constitution scribbling notes on her notepad behind him, recording everything as any good secretary ship did. "Welcome to Naval Station Lakehurst Wahoo. My name is Admiral Carroway. Now please be so kind as to tell me what you were doing in my office, stealing my coffee mug."

Chapter 28: Chapter 26~ Subthiefs, They're Everywhere!

Chapter Text

Wahoo giggled to herself as she skipped, literally skipped across the base. After a dressing down from Admiral Carroway and a quick debriefing, she was free to explore as she chose. She wasn't hungry, having filled her bunkers earlier at lunchtime. Her wondering propellers carried her to the dorms where she knew several girls were bunked who had just returned from patrol. Including one she was very eager to meet. She had heard rumors about Tang shortly after she reappeared in this form. And had wondered, given the girl's skill in combat (sneaking into NHHC had been frighteningly easy and she made a note to tell them to increase their security) if Tang might have been the ship Wahoo's former Exec was sent off to command. She had her answer now and was keen to communicate with the submarine who was, for all intense and purposes, her apprentice/daughter.

Wahoo wasn't even trying to be stealthy but most ships wondering the halls didn't even notice her. The only one who even realized there was a sub roaming the halls was Massachusetts, fresh off a transfer in from Norfolk. The battleship offered a half-hearted wave in her direction, not knowing exactly where the sub was. "Hey Wahoo." She greeted in her voice that was as grizzled as a Cape Cod fisherman's as she went past. Wahoo returned the greeting and continued on.

She had barely knocked on the door when it swung open reveling another sub girl only slightly taller than Wahoo herself but just as lanky. She had the smooth straight hair signature to a Balao-class and wore a T-shirt and jeans over her swimsuit.

"Hi there." Wahoo greeted while Tang simply stood there in shock.

"Ma-madam Wahoo." She said at last.

Wahoo laughed and waved off any further formality. After all they were both submarines and cut from the same cloth, steel whatever. "It's just Wahoo. I've heard a lot about you Tang and it's nice to finally meet you in person."

"It is. I mean you have?" Tang seemed torn between remaining at attention or fawning over Wahoo like a fangirl.

Wahoo was well aware of her fame and didn't mind the adoration but not from someone who was even more decorated than herself. "Walk with me."

Tang quickly closed her door and joined the older submarine as the two made their way back down the hallway. "I read your service record. Exemplary, absolutely exemplary."

"Thank you ma'am." Tang replied.

"What did I just say? It's Wahoo kiddo. No ma'am nonsense. And definitely non of that -san, -sempai bullsh*t that Archerfish and Albacore get."

"Right, Wahoo. I just did what I had to and Skipper O'Kane deserves most of the credit." Tang said.

"Hmm, yes I suppose he does. A fine man and good officer." Wahoo replied. If anyone else would know, she would.

"I've also heard you've taken a few shots at our new enemy and added some new kills to your scorecard." Wahoo added.

"Oh yes, I did. The Abyssals are um, like us only darker. Like an evil twin kind of. It's creepy." Tang replied.

"I'd love to hear more about our new enemy and protocol dictates I should be briefed on them by someone who's seen them firsthand but there is a more pressing matter to deal with." Wahoo said.

"Oh?" Tang looked at the older sub and her commanding officer curiously. Carroway had made Wahoo head of the newly formed Wolfpack, consisting of herself, Barb and Tang now that the fleet had enough submarines for that sort of thing. Despite having only just been summoned. Tang had no problems with this, happy to defer to the submarine whose tactics she had learned from in the latter days of the war.

Wahoo handed her a lockpicking set in reply. "I passed Massachusetts on the way here. What's say we practice our drawer raiding skills, for the navy's sake of course. We are after all subthiefs."

Tang's only reply was a grin.

Two hours later the entire base shuddered under Massachusetts' thundering roar "WHERE THE f*ck ARE ALL MY SWIMSUITS?!"

Chapter 29: Interlude: Dieu Sauve la Reine

Chapter Text

Normandie was looking forward to reaching Greenock. She'd passed Queen Mary at halfway point, a meeting that she used to make comments on the lovely blouse the liner wore. Which earned her a punch in the arm instead of the traditional passing high five. As fun as that had been however, seeing Titanic again was far more exciting. Normandie considered the British liner more than a girlfriend but not quite a fiancee. Even with her impressive repertoire in the language of amour, she wasn't sure what word to use.

The coastline was in sight and instantly Normandie knew something was wrong. She was careful to triple check her radar to ensure no Abyssals were out but the fact her escorts, led by the ever venerable Curacoa came out to greet her all somber faced spoke volumes. They all looked like they'd hit the bottle hard. Even adorable little Maury had a few strands loose out of her ponytail and a slight stagger to her walk.

Normandie gave them all a few minutes before she spoke. "Okay, care to clue me in?" She asked.

"Hmm?" Curacoa mumbled, eyes locked on the shore.

"You're all quiet. Too quiet and don't tell me that's alcohol I see Maury holding." Normandie glared at the destroyer who gave a cute sounding "eep" and stuffed said bottle back in her supply locker.

"If you're wondering if this has anything to do with Abyssals you're wrong." Maury said.

"Although if the bastards try anything they'll regret it!" Curacoa hissed, pure venom in her voice.

Normandie frowned. What could be worse than Abyssals? She found out soon enough.

Effortlessly leaping onto the dock and putting her rigging away, Normandie waved farewell to her escorts as they wondered off to resume their drinking. The base was eerily silent. Normandie didn't like that. She liked crowds, noise. Even if it was the kind that preempted one of Phoenix's experiments and subsequent screaming from Admiral Briggs as the poor man suffered another breakdown. This though. This was just, wrong. No base should be deserted especially not a shipgirl base. There was always some kind of chaos happening.

Sighing, Normandie navigated her way to the ocean liner barracks. The building was still very spartan as only a handful of ships had returned and all were relatively recent summons. Her girlfriend aside of course. Titanic's room was simple to locate for someone who'd been here on her last trip. Plus, Normandie's girlfriend had tied a ribbon around her balcony to let her know exactly where she was. There were worse calling cards as Normandie regrettably had seen. I mean seriously, where did Liberte get it into her head that a (REDACTED) was a good thing to put around her doorknob. And Normandie thought she'd seen everything.

A quick knock on the door was polite and after what happened in Halifax, Normandie felt it was only prudent. But seeing the door open and a half naked, clearly sloshed British liner with dripping wet hair glomping her was not what she expected. Normandie used her greater bulk to nudge Titanic back far enough to step inside and close the door. Gently, she tipped her girlfriend's head back and looked her in the eyes. Just that one look and it was mystery solved. Normandie knew what had happened.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, embracing her. What else could she say? What could anyone say to something like this? She sighed. "Dieu sauve la reine." She rasped.

"Thank you, Normandie." Titanic replied.

Chapter 30: Chapter 27~ Big U Meet Europe

Chapter Text

"I live with children." Curacoa thought as she watched Ledbury and Penn chased each other around in tight circles. Bramham was watching them dissaprovingly while simultaneously conversing with Campbeltown. The Towns-class was looking a little glum. Not surprising considering she wasn't originally assigned to this escort unit. But with Hood down with condenser troubles (damn that latest supply of chilli!) the destroyer had to do without her favorite traveling companion. Curacoa just hoped she could keep the maniac from causing too much trouble. She'd already had to scold her for sharing some of her unorthodox ideas with the impressionable youngsters.

The cruiser stifled a sigh as she held back her bordem. The fleet had been on station all morning awaiting the arrival of SS United States. America's star superliner was a welcome addition to Britain's system of convoys. The island nation had been fighting off its reserves for some time now and it was a huge relief to know their old ally was getting back into the fight, even if it involved saving their asses for a third time. Curacoa knew when to suck up her pride and be thankful.

Her musings were interrupted by Bramham's shout as the destroyer spotted twin stacks on the horizon. Steaming towards them with a massive bone in her teeth despite dropping her speed by five knots to permit her escorts to keep up with her, Big U's form was unmistakable. She lacked her lovely peacetime colors, trading them in for drab wartime gray. Curacoa thought the change made her look fierce and the 40mm weapons and 5 inch gun she carried enhanced that perception.

Spotting her escorts at the same time as they spotted her, Big U adjusted her course. Curacoa made a careful note of her zig zag pattern (that mistake was only to be made once) before forming up on her.

"Hi friends!" Big U waved at the destroyers who all waved back, offering various greetings. Campbeltown gave her a fist bump.

Curacoa however got quite a different reception. As soon as Big U looked at the cruiser beside her she put her hands on her cheeks and squealed. "EEEEE! YOU'RE SO CUTE! YOU'RESOCUTE!OMG!!" Her rudders were at their maximum turning angle and she all but plowed into her companion. A deja vu Curacoa could've gone without. But instead of stepping over her, Big U scooped her up and held her to her massive chest still squealing.

Even though she had not been run over, the cruiser still felt like her hull was coming apart. She wriggled, uncomfortable but there was no escaping 240,000 horsepower when it had a hold of you like this.

Big U continued on with Curacoa half draped over her shoulder. Bramham was giggling as she took up the lead position and Campbeltown, the little sh*t, was filming the whole thing. Curacoa stopped trying to fight, knowing it was futile and let her engines wind down, dismissing her rigging and hoping Big U wouldn't just drop her for the fun of it.

But the American seemed more interested in cuddling her than anything. She was still squealing, sounding off her whistles and foghorns almost continuously. Through the din, Curacoa tried one last time for freedom. She looked at Penn who was positioned just off Big Us starboard bow and mouthed "Help me."

The little destroyer, infuriatingly, just smiled and shook her head. Curacoa couldn't pout enough. Big U was comfy though so that was an unexpected plus and even up this high the liner didn't roll as badly as she thought she might. Unlike a certain British ocean liner, she at least had a pair of new stabilizers installed. (Thank you Boston)

Sighing, Curacoa let her head rest on Big U's right shoulder and watched the rear as the liner steamed at a leisurely 30 knots.

Chapter 31: Chapter 28~ Suffering is Thy Name, Admiral Cunningham

Chapter Text

In the Second World War, Greenock Scotland had been the drop of point for thousands of American GI's transported by converted ocean liners. The Abyssal War demanded no less of the town although instead of troops, it was all supplies. And a ship the size of United States delivered a lot of it. Cunningham had his back to his window and the harbor but Hood, serving on light duty until the repair ships could finish fixing her broken condensers, grinned at what she was seeing. "Admiral." She directed his attention outside.

Cunningham opened his window and looked out, hearing angry voices wafting across the bay. "...ME DOWN! I AM A CRUISER IN HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL NAVY! AND I REFUSE TO BE TREATED LIKE SOME KIND OF PET!!" That could only be Curacoa. He had never heard the cruiser sound so hot tempered. The reason for her anger was quickly revealed as United States slipped through the submarine net and into the harbor. She was carrying Curacoa under her arm.

Cunningham groaned and pressed his palm to his face while Hood merely sighed, rising to her feet and exiting the room. The Admiral glared at the chaos that was now occurring. Curacoa had gone from grumbling to shouting out curses at her captor that were most certainly not anatomically feasible. Ledbury and Penn were shooing away any curious lookies who got too close. Branham was conversing with the shipgirl manning the submarine nets. And Campbeltown was taking picture after picture on her phone, most assuredly uploading them to various social media sites.

"What gods did I offend to deserve this?" Cunningham moaned, sighing in relief when Hood appeared. The battlecruiser was stalking down the docks towards the mess. Hopefully she could talk some sense into the big American.

Hood for her part was torn between rolling her eyes and laughing. She felt she knew why the Yank had taken Curacoa "hostage" like she had. She was tempted to do the same thing with Campbeltown but refrained, knowing the mad destroyer would redo Bismarck's handiwork and blow her stern off, again.

United States spotted Hood almost as soon as she came outside. Unlike the other ocean liners, she had been built with radar and the set she possessed now, courtesy of a refit in Boston, was a favorite tool. With her free arm, she waved at Hood who returned the gesture seeing no reason to be rude. Her own 284 warning set had nothing on United States' SPY-6 but the Yank saw no need to compare just yet.

"SS United States," the battlecruiser began, halting at the edge of the dock. With her rigging out of commission for the time being she did not dare attempt to jump into the water. "Please let go of Curacoa."

"But she's so cute!" United States pouted while Curacoa harrumphed. "For the last time I am not cute! Destroyers are cute. I am a..." "A destroyer." United States finished.

Hood pressed her fingers to her bridge. She felt an ache building up in her conning tower. "Just- okay you need both hands to eat right? I'm assuming you must be hungry."

United States' bunkers betrayed her in that moment, issuing a loud growl to let her know how painfully empty they were. The liner blushed and nodded, reluctantly letting go of Curacoa who dropped out of her grip and would've sunk if she hadn't deployed her rigging at the last second. She glared at Hood who was struggling to keep a straight face. "Not a word." She hissed to her as she climbed out onto the dock.

As the liner made a beeline for the mess hall, Hood grinned at her fleetmate, discreetly slipping her phone into her pocket. No she would not say a word. But pictures more than made up for it.

After Curacoa left, Campbeltown spotted Hood and the two shared a conspiratorial wink. In his office Cunningham felt the urge to dive for his liquor cabinet.

Chapter 32: Chapter 29~ What Big U Got Up to in Boston

Chapter Text

Big U skipped along as she browsed Boston's shops. A flea market was out in full force and she'd be remiss if she didn't try some of the local cuisine before she returned to New Jersey. Constitution would say skipping was beneath a kanmusu of her station but the liner didn't care. She was a passenger ship converted to a troop carrier, a role that her predecessors found demeaning. Well some of them did anyway. Queen Mary rather enjoyed the part she played in helping her country but then again she'd always been a little prone to unladylike habits. Big U even more so.

Passing by a tray of fresh vegetables (eww!!), Big U's attention was captured by a small store titled "E's Shop for Models". The recent war had turned most places into a hub for shipgirl activity. Model building had really taken off in the states, never mind in Japan. That entire country had become one giant version of Akhibara it seemed like. Letting loose with a childish giggle, Big U waited for the crosswalk to clear before crossing the street and going inside. The old fashioned style of sailing ships in bottles adorned the window, among them one of Constitution which Big U eyed appreciatively. Finding one of Theabaud, she picked it up, resolving to give it to Bluenose as soon as possible. With a note addressed from "Theabaud" herself no less. Big U would be remiss if she didn't participate in the time honored tradition of matchmaking. She tucked the bottle into one of her holds, reminding her crew to mark it as merchandise to be paid for. Big U was not a subthief, thank you very much! She had some standards.

Big U resumed her browsing, giving an adorable squeak and blushing like mad when she saw herself. Well a model of herself anyway. The model was beautifully well done and featured her in her current wartime configuration. She picked it up to admire it more carefully. Whoever made this knew more than the average civilian population. Constitution had only just completed her rigging the day before yesterday.

"Like it?" Big U had radar so she wasn't surprised to know she wasn't alone. She turned to face the newcomer, the shop's owner.

She was of similar height to the liner, maybe an inch shorter at most. She had a strong athletic build and was dressed simply in a blue T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was blonde but had been so bleached by the sun it looked white. Violet eyes looked kindly on her.

"It's very well done." Big U managed. "Do you know who made it?" She asked.

"Aye. I did." The woman replied. "And judging from the blush on your face, I'm guessing you're Big U?" She said.

Big U nodded. "My name's Eleanor." They shook hands.

"How did you know what my rigging looked like? It only just got finished." Big U asked.

"I have a sister who works in the yards. And in my spare time I go down there myself." Eleanor replied. "I saw you getting refitted."

"Oh. Well, you do an amazing job." Big U gestured around her to all the models.

"Oh it's a hobby of mine." Eleanor shrugged. "I've always been fascinated with naval history."

"Really?"

"Not a very girly occupation, I know." Eleanor laughed. "But it runs in my family. My great-grandfather served on the Enterprise in WW2. I have a model of her as well if you want to see?"

"Ooh yes!" Big U grinned, ignoring her crew's more lecherous thoughts. Her own interest was purely scientific, thank you.

Eleanor led her to the next isle over where not one but five different models of Enterprise sat on the shelf. Each of a different scale and configuration. "This one is the oldest. As built design from 1938."

"It's beautiful." Big U whispered and it was. Enterprise was presented in parade configuration, her squadrons sitting perfectly aligned on her deck. Her tower was bare other than the enlarged 6 placed on it but the models were laid out in an almost narrative way, displaying the design changes and awards given the famous ship throughout her career. "How much?" She asked.

"Those I'd take 200 for." Eleanor replied.

Big U thought for a moment, then decided on the pre-war model. "I keep making models of her in the hopes that she might be summoned." Eleanor sounded somewhat frustrated that her efforts hadn't come to fruition.

"She'll come when she's ready." Big U assured her.

"You're right, kiddo. My grandfather was an engineer aboard her. He used to tell me Big E would listen to him on her terms and no one else's." Eleanor smiled. "Anything else you want to look at?"

"Do you have individual planes? I think Normandie would appreciate them."

"Hmm. Ah, I have just the thing." Eleanor ran to the back and Big U heard the sounds of rummaging. It was a few minutes before Eleanor emerged with a few models clutched in her arms.

"I have a Dauntless in 1:10 and 1:15 scales. A Wildcat in 1:5 and 1:10. And a Hellcat in 1:10." She said.

"Ooh the 1:5 wildcat!" Big U grinned.

Happily, the liner paid for her merchandise, including the Theabaud in a bottle one she'd found earlier.

"Feel free to come back any time you like." Eleanor said.

"I will." Big U promised as she was handed her bag. "Bye Eleanor."

She skipped out the door, nearly running into two pedestrians on her way out. Eleanor chuckled and rolled her eyes at the liner's silliness. Ah, civilians always so full of energy and innocent. Well, maybe the later didn't quite apply to Big U. Eleanor had seen the way she'd looked at some of her models. She made a mental note to pretend she hadn't seen anything. Last thing she needed was Constitution going all momboat on her ass. By Halsey the frigate could be scary sometimes.

Big U continued her shopping spree until she returned to the waterfront. Constitution seemed to have a sixth sense for she met her there. "I hear you had fun at E's."

"Were you spying on me?" Big U pouted.

"Didn't have to." She replied which answered nothing. "It's a popular spot for new summons. Eleanor, bless her, has been a local in these parts for at least three decades now. She only took over her father's shop when he was killed early in the war. She's a strong good girl and certainly comes in handy when I'm trying to round you crazy kids up."

Big U giggled, taking the crazy kid comment as a compliment. Constitution knew it two which is why she smiled and rolled her eyes but said nothing. Instead, she gave Big U a pat on the head which the liner leaned into. Constitution was very good at playing the role of grandmother. She let her kids run around but maintained enough control to keep the mayhem to a minimum. So she thought at least.

Big U rummaged through her holds only for a few seconds before she produced what she wanted, the in the bottle model of Constitution. "I found this at E's. For you." She grinned, handing it to her before backing off.

The liner was already halfway down the block and laughing hard enough to barely keep sailing straight when she heard Constitution roar "SS UNITED STATES!!!"

Chapter 33: Chapter 30~ Liners Can Troll with the Rest of Them

Chapter Text

This morning, Admiral Cunningham decided he hated his life. By mid-afternoon, he'd decided he really, really hated his life. Some higher power was out to get him, he swore. It wasn't that Big U didn't get along with his girls. She integrated herself into the warship cabal effortlessly. The problem was how American she was about it.

Big U was currently consuming the massive plate in front of her. Her third thus far. Her size and great speed meant she could give Akagi a run for her money. Several of the shipgirls were already calling her the "Yank Akagi" behind her stern. She continued to make a dent in the base's supplies with one hand while hanging onto Curacoa with the other. The poor cruiser had only the briefest respite from Big U's cuddle sessions yesterday as the liner quickly learned that mealtimes could be a one handed affair with minimal loss of efficiency.

Curacoa for her part had long since given up, having recognized the futility of resistance. She now sat partially on Big U's lap as she ate her own, by comparison, measly batch of food. She had nearly every single shipgirl on the base following her around like fangirls, all with various reasons. Hood because she was a battlecruiser and found speed to be sexy. Campbeltown because she thought Big U's impressive bow, normally used to smash through Atlantic swells, could also be used against more solid targets, like walls or enemy drydocks. The rest were along for the ride and/or damage control as apparently British destroyers had all taken to be as lewd as Johnson.

Thankfully, Big U's stay was only as long as it took her to fuel up. For the return trip she was carrying a batch of intelligence documents as well as battle plans. One could never be too sure about the Abyssal code cracking ability.

Her bunkers stuffed, Big U was seen off by Hood and after a few sharp words from the battlecruiser, reluctantly relinquished Curacoa. "Until next time, little one." She cooed.

Curacoa puffed up, giving the Yank a glare so dark her eyes turned white. "I AM NOT LITTLE!!!" She screamed to everyone else's amusem*nt. Even Hood laughed at seeing the normally unflappable cruiser, well flap.

Big U offered her lead escort a curtsy. "Ladies first." She said to Hood who smiled and ruffled her hair as she went past.

For all her craziness, Big U was actually sensible and professional where it counted. Cunningham could almost believe her departure would go off without the hitches her arrival had caused... "Bye, cutie dears!" She sang to the rest of the girls gathered, but mainly to Curacoa. The desk felt heavenly against Cunningham's forehead.

The trip across the Atlantic lasted all of 2 days. Even with the zig zagging, Big U ensured her speed never dropped below 36 knots the whole way across. As she neared New York, she met up with Queen Mary, fresh from a transporting trip of her own in Australia. It had taken the British ship a month to complete her voyage and she was exhausted but she still had the energy to wave at her American counterpart as the two sailed past the outer perimeter.

"Did you enjoy yourself in Europe?" She asked.

"Oh yes. There were a few uptight squares but for the most part, the Brits are surprisingly hospitable." Big U said.

"Hey now, remember who you're talking to young lady." Queen Mary half scolded her.

"Sorry Mary." Big U giggled back, going slightly in front as they turned into the Ambrose Channel.

"Do you ever run out of energy?" Queen Mary sighed.

"No. At least not yet anyway." Big U replied, still just as chipper as ever. The older liner sighed again. She hadn't a hope of keeping up with the American even when she was fresh out of the dockyards, never mind now. Her engines were sore and they gave her a spasm of pain just considering the idea.

"So where's Liberte? I thought she went down south with you?"

"She did. However, her speed is much slower than mine and so we parted ways in Rio." Queen Mary explained. "And what about you? I hear you've been getting friendly with Curacoa."

Big U's squawk was adorable, not that she would ever admit that. "Mary!" She exclaimed. "She's tiny and adorable and makes for an excellent plushie."

"Oh is that all?" Queen Mary raised a brow at Big U's pout. She had picked up some bad habits from her French rival. She was equally good at trolling.

Big U was still pouting when they arrived at the docks.

Chapter 34: Chapter 31~ The Abyssals Sortie

Chapter Text

The Northern Atlantic Princess, known to her queen as Hopo, couldn't hide her grin even if she tried at the sight of the combined fleets. Her Queen and the Queen of all Abyssals, The Lone Princess, the former RMS Olympic, stood beside her, a similar grin on her face. If it wasn't for her unnaturally blue eyes and pale skin, the latter could almost pass as human. That fact had come in handy in the past. Few Abyssals were privy to the true inner workings of their society but the Northern Atlantic Princess was one of the privileged few who knew just how old her companion was. For decades she had lain in wait, absorbing the fear and hatred of humanity until the time came to break down the barriers between this world and the next. From those cracks came the Abyssals. Everything that came after was inevitable.

"Are we ready then?" She asked.

"Yes, your majesty." The Atlantic Princess answered. "The fleets are gathered and awaiting your command."

It hadn't been easy getting here. Olympic lost two escort vessels to kanmusu submarines but her luck against the undersea creatures had held and she'd managed to make a safe arrival despite three unexploded torpedoes digging into her side. "Make the final preparations Hopo dear." She ordered. "We shall move against my former master's homeland first. You will lead one fleet through the ice into the North Sea. I shall make a run into the channel and join up with you off Calais. Our combined career fleets will decimate the airfields on both sides."

Hopo's grin was bloodthirsty as she agreed. They had waited long enough for their revenge. Olympic had waited long enough. It was time to make certain the world knew and would never forget the pain it had caused them.

In New Jersey, Carroway's office door burst open and Tang ran in with Wahoo close behind. The pair were sopping wet and dripping seawater all over his carpet but he ignored the urge to scold them when he saw panicked look on their faces. "What is it?" He demanded.

"It's the Lone Princess, sir." Tang gasped air as she spoke. "She's joined with the NAP."

"How did she get past you?" Carroway growled.

"It wasn't our fault!" Wahoo spoke up now and the frustration in her voice was clear. "We sunk two of her escorts and put three fish into her but for some reason they didn't detonate."

"Olympic was known to be immune to torpedoes." Tang added, also annoyed but a thoughtful look crossed her face.

"And what's the situation now?" Carroway feared he knew. Intel had pointed to this possibility for months, given the NAP's tendency to surprise convoys off the Irish coast.

"They've sortied sir. I watched them leave Reykjavik. They're headed for Britain." Wahoo said.

Horror didn't even begin to describe what Carroway felt. "God help them." He whispered.

Constitution entered with a polite knock on the half open door. "I heard a commotion sir..." She broke off when she saw the two submarines and her admiral's face. "What happened?" Her gaze turned steely.

"Summon the fleet into the briefing room. And I mean everyone. We don't have much time." Carroway ordered. Constitution was too professional to ask questions. She simply nodded and left, but not quickly enough to hear him add quietly "I just hope we aren't too late."

Chapter 35: Chapter 32~ Operation Pegasus

Chapter Text

Admiral Carroway was pleased with the turnout his call had offered. Constitution had been thorough in her efforts to round up the residence and the briefing room was packed to the gills. Besides the usual liner compliment, there were also the cruisers Atlanta and Portland. The two destroyer divisions composing of Neunzer, Samuel F. Davis, and Chatelin along with the Canadians, Champlaign and St. John. Bluenose and Theabaud, the latter fresh out of the docks, were side by side. Akron and Makon were alternating between doodling on each other's notebooks and messing with Hindenburg's hair respectively. The larger airship did not seem to care much. The submarines were, of course, not seen but Carroway knew they were in the room judging by the items being stolen off various desks and Olympia glaring seemingly into nothing. Only she could tell where Becuna was at all times, somehow. And rounding out the group were the battleships South Dakota and Indiana, freshly summoned by Admiral Briggs down in Norfolk and on loan for this operation.

Everyone quieted when Carroway walked to the front of the room and began his briefing. "Our worst fears have been realized. The Abyssals are making their move against Europe. Two fleets, one under the command of the Northern Atlantic Princess is heading for the North Sea. While the Lone Princess. (Titanic clenched her fists at that) is heading for the Channel. Estimates put them off the coast of France in less than a day." There were whispers as everyone realized how bad the situation was about to be. One Abyssal fleet was hard enough to combat but two? "Your job is to provide support to the French wherever they need it. The Abyssals won't be expecting our arrival so we can attack their rear while they're preoccupied."

"What about the British?" Hindenburg asked. "Can't they help?"

"Their Home Island Defense Fleet is composed mainly of older generation cruisers and destroyers. They have a few battleships but no effective means as to screen them. The rest of their forces are spread between the Mediterranean and the Pacific." Carroway replied.

"Great, this is going to be a bloodbath." Hindenburg muttered as she scribbled.

"Assignments are as follows: KanDesRon 1 along with KanCruisDiv 2 will be assigned to Indiana. KanDesRon 2 with the Airship Corps will be assigned to South Dakota. Lafayette will be attached to you for air support until you reach the midway point where Ark Royal will take over. South Dakota has command of the crossing. Upon reaching France you will hand over command to the Franco-British commander."

"Understood sir." The battleship growled, her steely gray eyes already narrowed as she mentally prepared herself for the coming fight.

"Code name for this is Operation Pegasus." Carroway continued. "I won't mince words about this girls, Hindenburg is right this will be a bloodbath. But our allies will fall without our help. You have 2 hours to get your gear in order. Dismissed!"

...........................................................

Titanic stood with her lover at the edge of the dock. Normandie had her gear on and ready. Titanic was due to make her own crossing to Greenock Scotland but the task force would be setting a speed too fast for her and so she'd depart New York a day after them. "Be careful." She asked.

"I'll see you on the way back." Normandie promised, giving her a kiss on both cheeks.

Titanic watched them disappear over the horizon. She had been a kanmusu for so long, she had learned never to ignore her instincts. And they were telling her that something about this felt wrong. She knew, Normandie aside as thankfully she wasn't going all the way across, that some of the girls now departing were not coming back. But there was something else Titanic felt was missing and whatever it was filled her with dread.

..............................................................

Dunquerke uttered a not so choice curse at the sight now appearing on the horizon. Over two dozen Abyssal battleships and battlecruisers along with countless other smaller vessels. The carriers and command vessels wisely stayed out of sight but carrier aircraft buzzed over their vanguard and headed towards shore and the base. The French battleship now knew what the Japanese must have felt at Okinawa and Tarawa when they saw the massive force anchored just offshore. The words of one Japanese commander came to her. "The Gods of Death have come." She whispered.

Elizabeth was standing next to her, a similar expression on her face. She didn't even wince when Dunquerke's fingers dug into her shoulder harder than most people could tolerate. The British ensign swallowed hard, pushing a red lock out of her face as her green eyes swam with tears. "May the stars have mercy on us." She whispered. For they both knew for a fact that the Abyssals would have none.

Chapter 36: Chapter 33~ It Begins

Chapter Text

The Abyssals were taking tactics straight from the American's book. Battleships shelled the coast and aircraft streaked overhead dropping waves of ordinance on the base. Dunquerke joined up with Teste in an effort to hold them off. Whatever they did however would only delay the inevitable. The Abyssals had formed a picket line just outside the harbor and divided their fire between the base and the two battleships now mounting a defense.

Elizabeth helped to direct civilians out of the line of fire. Like kanmusu, Abyssals couldn't survive away from the sea and inland areas were safe havens for humanity. "Come on, quickly!" She shouted to a young girl who was falling behind. The girl was injured, a wound in the leg and she stumbled and fell before Elizabeth could grab her.

In the distance, Dunquerke and Teste were putting up a valiant defense but where slowly being driven back towards shore. The lead Abyssal battleship which bore a striking resemblance to Vanguard, launched a salvo that Elizabeth somehow knew was going to strike where the girl was. She acted fast, launching herself to her and scooping her up, both landing against the side of a building while the shells rained down where they were just seconds before.

Fires raged all around. Seeing her fear so up close and personal did something to Elizabeth. It was like something in her mind gave way and all her memories became unblocked. And with them, her identity appeared. Her true identity. She blinked, looking down at the precious child she'd nearly died to protect. For her part the little girl looked up at her, confused. "Who are you?" She asked.

Elizabeth smiled for she finally knew the answer. For the first time since that terrible day in 1972 she gave her reply. "My name is RMS Queen Elizabeth. And I suggest you find higher ground." She said.

After handing the child off to a responsible adult, Elizabeth made her way into the harbor summoning her rigging effortlessly. To say that Dunquerke and Teste were surprised to see her would be an understatement.

"Liz, you look..." Dunquerke was stumped for words while Teste had enough to say for them both. "I knew it! I just knew it!" She exclaimed.

Dunquerke embraced the liner. "We can only delay these bastards. Is there any way you can slip through?" She asked.

Elizabeth looked at the blockade, then looked back at her lover. "I've run blockades before." She said. "Yes, I can."

"We'll distract them. Now go." Elizabeth jumped to it at Dunquerke's order. "And Liz, please come back."

The liner smiled. "I better find you to come back to Dunquerke or Davy Jones will find out how small the universe is when I'm mad at him." She replied.

"Count on it." The battleship promised.

Elizabeth was as good as her word, proceeding towards the blockade under the cover of her fleetmate's fire. She thought she heard cries of pain from one of the battleships but she did not risk turning around. She had to keep going. It was for them she was doing this. Help she needed to find for the sake of both France and England. She hugged the coastline to better disguise her from radar, counting on the early morning fog to hide her visually. After two hours with no sign of any persuence she increased to flank speed. There was only one place she could go with both France and England under attack and the eastern channel blocked off. Memories of her previous life flooded her and Elizabeth knew what she had to do. She set her bows west, for America and prayed the Yanks could answer her call for help.

..........................................

Avoiding the combined Japanese-American fleet had been difficult. Dodging the British force sent out from India had been even tougher but Tosa smirked to herself as she entered the Northern Atlantic Ocean. 12000 nautical miles steamed and now they were nearing their target. The humans had no idea where she had gone. Satellite tracking didn't work on Abyssals. She had played her part well and she hoped her queen would reward her for her efforts. It hadn't been easy making the journey but thankfully the Abyssal held strongholds at Ascension and Cape Verde granted her fleet much needed refueling stops. Rest time had been limited but full bunkers made up for that.

The Pacific was lost, any fool could see that. With the Island Princess destroyed and those pathetic sisters annihilated, the Abyss' only hope lay with the Atlantic. Tosa re-reviewed the plan in her mind. While her queen engaged the Europeans, Tosa herself would launch an assault on the poorly defended country of her one true enemies. No doubt they had already deployed what existed of their meager forces to help the Europeans, so predictable. Once, in another lifetime had she lived, Tosa would've faced an endless wave of vengeful steel that claimed her dear sister. Now, that wave was no more than a trickle at best. How the mighty had fallen. And Tosa would ensure that fall only ended on her terms.

A bloodthirsty grin crossed the princess' face as her fleet entered Long Island Sound. Soon, her fleet would feast on human flesh. A substance more worthy to them than bunker fuel.

Chapter 37: Chapter 34~ Arrival in England

Chapter Text

So far the crossing had been uneventful but that didn't mean that South Dakota would let her guard down. She still remembered the last time she had done that. It had cost her two of her crew and nearly 50 more at Santa Cruz. The battleship used every one of her radars to scan the sea around them. She relied heavily on the escorting destroyers to let her know of any subsurface threat. Neunzer and Champlaign coordinated their divisions between SoDac and her sister, spread out in a ring around the two battleships with Portland and Atlanta taking a flanking position between them and the destroyers. Inward of South Dakota sat Lafayette. The converted flattop regularly sent up a CAP which was much appreciated. Even if Lafayette's skill with airplanes left much to be desired her efforts took some weight off SoDac's shoulders.

Currently, Lafayette possessed the far away look that all carriers had when they were managing their planes. As SoDac watched, Lafayette's look changed from focused to confused to slightly alarmed.

It was enough to rouse SoDac's attention. "Report!" She barked.

"I've got a contact. It's sharp, it's coming this way and it's moving fast." Lafayette replied.

"How fast?" SoDac asked.

"32 knots." was the reply but Lafayette didn't sound concerned.

"Is it Abyssal?" Indiana spoke up now.

"Negative. Definitely Kanmusu. It's long range, my planes can't get a positive ID. Too much cloud cover." Lafayette frowned, tilting her head skywards. "Macon, track southwest to Grid Charlie. Sharp contact for you to check out." She radioed.

"Acknowledged." Macon replied crisply. If South Dakota strained her eyes she could see the airship as she moved off her holding station directly above the task force, providing direct cover and allowing Lafayette to send her planes out far. Radar kept track of her mainly and South Dakota insured her guns were loaded and ready to point in the direction of the sharp radar contact that just popped up on her screen. She stared at it intently. Lafayette was right, it was big, it was fast and it had turned to head right for them. Despite her zig zag course and it took SoDac's experienced eyes only minutes to determine it was Course 8, she was making good time. At only 35 miles out she'd be in visual range soon, cloud cover and fog be damned.

Sure enough, the sight of a large figure on the horizon graced everyone's visual scopes in just under an hour. To her credit, the newcomer maintained her zig zag even after making visual contact. Next to South Dakota who had her guns now locked on the intruder lest she turn out to be a very human looking Abyssal, Atlanta pressed a hand to her ear. "I'm getting a radio signal. It's weak like she's whispering but it is on an open frequency. Maritime Channel 16."

South Dakota immediately tuned in herself and was instantly greeted with a shock. "This is the RMS Queen Elizabeth calling the American convoy. If you read me, please flash a Morse signal." At least the liner had the sense not to ask for a verbal reply. SoDac gave Atlanta a nod and the cruiser sent a quick "YES" message with her lamp.

It took another 30 minutes before Elizabeth was close enough to join the formation. South Dakota had her take up a position beside Lafayette who was equally surprised to see her. Lafayette had somewhat recognized the signature her planes were getting but she hadn't known Liz all that well and the events that transpired shortly after her departure from New York greatly overshadowed her few memories.

"Living out the American dream I see." Liz grinned.

"Absolutely. So, you running another blockade?" Lafayette asked.

Liz winced. "I'm just glad I found you here. Ark Royal's 50 miles ahead she'll give you the scope." She replied. She'd run into the carrier shortly after clearing the channel and while seeing British faces was a huge relief, it also underscored the urgency of her mission. Unable to sit still, she'd asked Ark for permission to scout ahead. Something the carrier had tentatively granted provided she remain blacked out and zig zagging.

"How bad is it over there Liz?" South Dakota spoke up now, her voice firm but not harsh.

"Cherbourg has fallen. Le Havre is hanging on but barely just. Dunquerke and Teste have abandoned the sea and are trying to get as many civilians inland as they can but it's a dogfight all the way to the Alps!" Liz replied.

"And England?" South Dakota pressed.

"It's bad there too. Ark Royal told me the Abyssals executed a perfectly timed and coordinated landing force against both sides of the channel. At the same instant Cherbourg got pounded so did Southampton, Plymouth, and Portsmouth." Liz replied, her cheeks red and breathless from her sprint. At the task force's current speed of 28 knots she could regain some of her wind before they met up with Ark Royal.

"Knocking out the naval bases and the main commercial port all at once. Clever." South Dakota said. "Here's what we've got. The bitch leading this op is the Lone Princess, an evil version of Olympic. With her is the Northern Atlantic Princess, who is best as we can figure is some creepy version of Bismarck."

"sh*t." Liz managed, too shocked to watch her language not that it mattered. Her first few years of life were in war and here she was again, surrounded by warships. None of them said a word against.

Ark Royal's force came into view, a welcome sight for everyone even Liz who'd just come from there. HMS Curacoa as expected led the escorts. "Well it's about bloody time you Yanks showed up to save us, again." She grinned.

South Dakota, who was not really in the mood for banter but indulged the cruiser slightly replied "I could turn this task force around right now!" She growled.

"A maneuver we hope you will not seriously consider conducting." Ark Royal said as she steamed forward, effortlessly joining into the American formation as it continued east. Her own escorts followed suit. The shuffling was so well organized it was almost graceful but both fleets had lots of practice doing these maneuvers on the fly.

Lafayette greeted the senior carrier with a respectful incline of her head and a mumbled "Mademoiselle."

Ark Royal regarded her for a moment before turning to South Dakota. "All our bases along the channel are as good as lost. For the time being, you'll come with us to Liverpool. "I understand your orders were to detach Lafayette but we could use another flattop." She said.

South Dakota looked at the carrier. "Lafayette, you okay with that?" She asked.

Lafayette straightened, her bow in the perfect parade position at her shoulder. "I will do what is needed, Dakota." She replied.

"Aye. That you will." South Dakota smiled. "Ark Royal. My task force, is your task force." She said. Ark Royal gave the battleship a nod in reply.

The force continued on in full for another 2 days before arriving in Liverpool. The entire port was in an uproar. Not entirely surprising considering recent events and despite America's current lack of a wall of steel the sight of any fresh reinforcements was enough to lift many spirits.

Another bright spot was that Queen Mary had arrived fresh from Boston just a few days ahead of them. As soon as she spotted her sister, Liz broke formation after a quick word to Ark Royal and ran towards her.

Mary for her part had just finished unloading her most recent batch of soldiers and cargo. Don't ask her how it worked but for some reason, regular soldiers were somehow turned into ferries when they boarded her, then came out the other side perfectly fine and healthy. Well, other than the word "hey" entering their speech a little more often than was necessary.

"MARY!!" An eager shout got her attention and she turned towards the sound of whomever was calling her name, half curious half annoyed. The annoyance went away instantly as did the curiosity. Both replaced by joy!

"Liz?!" Mary took a flying leap off the dock, deploying her rigging at the last second and putting full power into her engines. Her turbines whirred as they strained against the sudden load but her shafts held and propelled her into the arms of her sister. The two ships colliding in a squealing, groaning 180,000 tons of steel and flesh.

Each sister took their turn lifting the other out of the water and twirling her, neither loosening their grip. Superstructure's developed significant dents, funnels cracked but neither took much notice. Mary managed to sum up the moment with her typical efficiency. "I've missed you." She said.

Liz let out a sound that was half laugh, half cry and Mary realized she too was crying, as she replied "Missed you too, sister."

Chapter 38: Chapter 35~ Nacht der Langen Messer

Chapter Text

The last thing Titanic expected to be doing was running through Long Island sound at 26 knots in the pre-morning hours. Every ounce of steam was direction into her engines. She had never pushed herself like this before and if she wasn't so terrified she might have actually enjoyed the sensation. But coming into Ambrose Channel and seeing the classic fog bank that preceded an Abyssal fleet was not on her top 10 list of favorite sites. Hence the running. Making an impossibly tight 180 degree turn, she raced back towards Lakehurst. She knew why the Abyssals were here but she hoped they would concentrate on New York first. The large city made for an irresistible target but she should have known better than to hope for any luck.

No one was surprised to see Titanic return. American radar was second to none and picked up on the approaching fleet not long after Titanic herself did. The liner leaped onto the dock, dispelling her rigging mid-air with practiced ease. After a hundred years of performing such maneuvers in secret, she did so now in plain sight easily. Olympia was waiting for her, relief written on every part of her face. Clearly she'd been worried about her Captain.

"I only caught a glimpse of them but it looks like Tosa's fleet." Titanic reported.

Now the fear in Olympia's eyes became more pronounced. With the main force away in England, the base lacked any significant defense. Olympia wouldn't hesitate to defend her homeland but she was outclassed on a level that would ensure she wouldn't survive two minutes. A delaying action at best. Titanic met her gaze and unspoken communication passed between them. A sacrifice willingly made from both ships.

Before either ship could reenter the water and confront the attackers, Becuna appeared. "Thank SecNav you made it out of there Captain. I have orders from Admiral Cartwright. You are to assist in the evacuation of civilians. Then make a run for Norfolk and regroup there." She said.

"Nonsense!! I can fight!" Olympia snarled.

"You wouldn't last two minutes and neither will I." Becuna replied. "Barb, Wahoo, and Tang are already trying to delay them."

As she spoke there was an explosion as one of the advancing destroyers went up in flames. Clearly the Mark 14 torpedoes were making their mark. Titanic took a step back as Olympia grasped Becuna's shoulder. "You don't have to do this. The base is lost. Come with us." She begged.

Becuna took that hand in one of her own, offering the inside of it a gentle kiss. "I will wait for you in the ice." She promised. Then she turned and leaped into the water, all but disappearing once she deployed her rigging.

Titanic tugged at Olympia's collar. "We have our orders." She said.

"I can't just leave-" Olympia rasped.

With her full strength restored, Titanic easily overpowered Olympia, forcing the cruiser along behind her. They got out of the main harbor and up one of the rivers, trusting that the freshwater would slow the Abyssals down at the very least given their dislike for it. United States had just beaten Tosa here and although low on fuel she didn't hesitate to do her due diligence, taking thousands of panicked people up her gangplanks. Titanic joined her while Olympia provided cover. The old cruiser would be useless if the Abyssal fleet came in now but she was good for fending off small straffing runs. Bluenose and Theabaud added their few peashooters to the mele as well.

Just as the last of the people got aboard and Titanic noted the lack of military personnel amongst them as the soldiers did their duty like the ships, a pair of explosions sounded. The first was against the headquarters building and as it went up in smoke Titanic knew no one could have survived. The second came from one of the closer ships in the Abyssal fleet, a large heavy cruiser who Titanic recognized from intelligence reports. She was one of Tosa's loyal ones, having been with the Princess since the very first sighting. With no warning she simply exploded. Her death had all the hallmarks of Tang's Mark 18s.

Tosa was furious at the loss of her most loyal subordinate and her escorts began dropping depth charges in earnest, forcing the submarines deep. To survive a depth charging, one had to be quick as well as lucky. Failing at one of those would result in a quick death. Clearly one of the submarines did fail as the distinctive mark of an oil slick appeared on the surface.

Titanic didn't need to wonder who's it was for long as Olympia collapsed into tears. She had always been connected to Becuna and now that connection screamed its loss. As United States prepared to leave, Titanic knelt beside her friend. She rested a hand over her shoulders. "Come on." She said softly. "There's nothing more we can do here."

Chapter 39: Chapter 36~ Combining the Fleets

Chapter Text

It was a feat impressively identical to de Gaulle's escape that Teste and Dunkerque were able to make it to Liverpool. Being forced east, they looped around the North Sea, traveling over the top of the British Isles before coming down the other side, joining the combined Anglo-American forces. Liz was beyond relieved to see Dunkerque but their happy reunion was dampened by the news that reached them from across the Atlantic.

After putting a serious dent in Tosa's forces, Tang, Barb and Wahoo made their way into Norfolk and with them came the news relayed straight from Admiral Briggs. The British girls reacted with a combination of sympathy for their American allies and anger at being duped like that. Having fought the Abyssals for so long they should have seen a trap like this coming. The American contingent of shipgirls were chomping at the bit to return home and deal with this new problem but as sympathetic as he was, Cunningham couldn't lose his reinforcements. The larger Abyssal fleet in Europe was the primary threat and it needed to be dealt with first. Briggs had informed him that Tosa was taking her sweet time feasting in New York. As horrifying as that image was, it gave the Americans time to transfer their other ships from the Pacific. With the standards fully capable of holding Hawaii and Tosa's presence over there no longer a problem given where she was now, the three Iowa's along with a Japanese contingent lead by Musashi were transferring into Virginia. Relaying that plan to South Dakota and the others gave them some relief along with the confidence that their country could beat back this invasion to her shores. Still, there was nothing like being forced to watch helplessly from the sidelines 3000 miles away.

With Cunningham having all the ships he was going to get for the foreseeable future, plans were made for a counterattack. The RAF would handle Southampton but Plymouth and Portland would be the job for the shipgirl fleet. Giving Southampton to the flyboys was a hard decision but the right one. The confined waters of the Solent would make it difficult for the fleet to maneuver when they were spotted. Plymouth and Portland had open access to the Channel and were close to the Atlantic entrance making it slightly easier. Still, slipping in undetected would be next to impossible for a surface attack, hence...

"BEHOLD, ADMIRAL. I, HMS UPHOLDER HAVE ANSWERED YOUR SUMMONS."

The need for submarines. Cunningham sighed as he resisted the urge to hold his head in his hands. The U-class of submarine all had their interesting, headache inducing quirks. From Ursula's vodka cravings to Umpire's need to be like her namesake in every sortie. And of course, there was Upholder's "inside voice". He glared at the submarine standing across from him. Her military bearing was so perfect it could make a drill instructor blush.

"Upholder, I have a task for you but first, I understand you have something to show me." He said.

"YES ADMIRAL!" Upholder whistled and the door opened again, admitting a girl who was easily a head taller than Upholder. Her high boots, long trench overcoat and steely blue gaze told Cunningham she was German. She was lanky, clearly having missed out on a few meals but her muscles were thick. Although bigger, she was lacking the British submarine's assets.

She snapped to attention, clicking her heels together as she did so. Her English was heavily accented but understandable. "Admiral German Underseaboat SM U-103, II Flotilla, reporting sir!" She clicked her heels a second time. Upholder hid a snicker behind a smile.

Cunningham supposed he should have expected this. Some ships were just too linked for one to appear without the other. "Stand at ease." He ordered. "103, Your arrival here is unexpected but not unwelcome. You'll receive a formal debriefing later and I will have Upholder take you to the mess in a minute. Would you mind waiting outside?" He asked.

"Ja, Herr Kommendant." She saluted again.

Once she had left, Cunningham turned to Upholder. "I need you and your sisters to lead the assaults on Plymouth and Portland. These attacks need to be kept as close to simultaneous as possible so to prevent any alert from going out before the RAF attacks Southampton. Otherwise it's going to be a bloodbath."

"I understand Admiral." Upholder replied. She understood how serious this situation was and took pains to lower the volume to normal speaking levels.

"A combined Anglo-American surface fleet will back you up should you need it but this needs to be a submarine operation to ensure the element of surprise remains for as long as possible. I cannot stress that enough." Cunningham said.

"Yes Admiral. But how are we getting there undetected? Abby controls both entrances to the channel so any force is going to be spotted."

"I'm counting on it." Cunningham's tone had an underlying sly tone to it, almost like a purr.

"Oh." Upholder grinned, understanding instantly. Ever since coming back she'd wanted to try this. Now she'd get the opportunity. "Who's on the rotation?" She asked.

"Achilles, Astute, Montana, Florida, and Washington." Cunningham replied.

"I WILL TELL MY SISTERS TO PREPARE FOR YOUR AWESOME AND DANGEROUS PLAN AT ONCE!!" Upholder cheered and cleared her throat when Cunningham glared at her. "I mean, I will take 103 to the mess hall first and then have the fleet gather in the briefing room so you can tell them of your awesome and dangerous plan sir." She amended. "What about 103? Is she coming with."

"Do you trust her?" Cunningham returned.

"Ah-she is WW1 design so I have no grudge and I haven't been one to get in the way of settling old scores." Upholder replied.

"I'll put her on the roster. You're dismissed Upholder."

"THANK YOU SIR!" Upholder saluted and left leaving Cunningham to douse his concern and his headache with a pair of aspirin while at the same time thanking supply for somehow never running out of the stuff.

103 stood in the hallway, acting as a guard near the Admiral's door. She gave no sign she overheard anything although Upholder had no doubt she'd took in every word. The two walked in silence for a few minutes. At last when they arrived at the mess hall, Upholder spoke. "I recommend the calamari. It's a real delicacy."

"I have learned to be wary of delicacies." 103 replied with a smile. She picked a few pieces of the squid anyways. The two sat down. "Can I ask you something." She said.

"I pulled you out of a minefield and you kept me hidden from a 3 cruiser strong Abby force. You can ask me anything you want." Upholder replied, taking a sip off her tea.

103 chuckled. "Danke. Well, ve vere taught that Underseaboots are meant to be quiet. So why-" "Why am I so boisterous?" 103 nodded.

"You know how I was sunk?" Upholder asked and 103 shook her head. "Nein." She replied.

"Well, it was my 25th patrol. I was due to return to England after giving the Italians hell in the Med. Ran into a convoy on my way out and they chased me right into a minefield." 103 winced. "Sometimes I can still hear their sonar in my head. Being loud drowns that out."

103 reached across the table, resting a hand over Upholder's. "It makes you all the more brave that you pulled me out of a minefield then." She said.

"Speak for yourself. Holding firm against a 3 ship raiding fleet takes balls too." Upholder replied.

"Nein, I held firm because I was too scared to move. Ve were fortunate they had no sonar. So you see, ve both have our coping mechanisms." 103 replied.

"Ja, I suppose we do." Upholder chuckled, reaching across and ruffling 103's hair. "Finish up, we've got a briefing to go to."

"So I heard." 103 nodded. "This is either going to be the most brilliant operation ever conceived in Europe or it'll be a disaster that makes Gallipoli look like a backyard brawl."

With an estimated 100 shipgirls from four different nations, the briefing room was packed. Each mostly stuck to their own fleet although there were a few friendly exchanges between the American and British shipgirls. Cunningham stood at the podium. Silence fell as he began to speak. "Girls, the time has come for us to fight back. This will be a joint operation with the Royal Air Force against all three of the held bases on our Channel coast." He turned to the map behind him. "The RAF will attack Southampton. At the same time, a surface fleet under the overall command of HMS Hood will distract the Abyssals, drawing them into a channel fight. This will enable two submarine fleets to slip under the mele and into the harbors of Portland and Plymouth. They will be deployed from the contingent of British and American SSNs." There some whoops and cheers from the invisible submarines as they heard this information. Like Upholder, they'd been keen to explore their modern counterparts and all loved the idea of being deployed via torpedo tube.

"Assignments are as follows. Task Force 51 will consist of Ark Royal, Hood, Repulse, South Dakota, Curacoa, Atlanta, Portland, Campbeltown, Neunzer and Davis. Task Force 52 will consist of Lafayette, Dunkerque, Teste, Prince of Wales, Maury, Chatelaine, and Huron. Three SSNs will attack Plymouth, two for Portland. The Plymouth fleet consists of USS Washington, USS Florida, and HMS Achilles. Florida will have Undine, Unity, Union, and Unique. Washington will have Upholder, U-103, Umbra, and Venturer. On Achilles will be Vox, Vigorous, and Virtue. The Portland fleet will consist of HMS Astute, and USS Montana. On Astute will be Umpire, Una, Unbeaten, Urchin, and Viking. On Montana will be Ursula, Undaunted and Upright. Any questions?" There were none. "The name for this assault is Operation Chariot 2. No Campbeltown that does not mean you can misbehave." The destroyer pouted and Cunningham prayed having Hood and Campbeltown in the same fleet together wouldn't cause too much trouble. "Departure time is 01:30 hours, good luck girls and good hunting. Dismissed!"

Chapter 40: Chapter 37~ Flying North to Sail South

Chapter Text

It was several miles before Titanic felt they were far enough inland to be confident that Tosa wouldn't follow them. Stepping ashore in Trenton, Titanic pulled Olympia up beside her. The cruiser hadn't said a word since they retreated but tears still stained her face. United States was keeping it together as she offloaded her passengers. Titanic followed suit.

"Tang reported in. The way south is blocked by Tosa's secondary forces. They've got Long Island sound and Delaware Bay." The American said.

"They have us pinned. So where do we go?" Titanic asked.

"Boston." Constitution cut in. The frigate had a wound in her shoulder but her fairies were hard at work repairing the damage. "It will be Tosa's next target but she'll have her forces fuel up in New York and Philadelphia first. If we're quick enough we can beat her there and slip out before her net closes around us." Titanic nodded, it made sense. "Speaking of, we could use some refueling ourselves." The frigate continued. "Big U, how much further can you push?"

"As far as you need me to, flagship." United States replied, her steely gaze doing nothing to hide the pain she was in from her constantly complaining empty bunkers.

"I know a place where we can eat." Theabaud said.

It was a three mile walk inland from Riverside to the place Theabuad mentioned. A Cajun Seafood Boil and Bar off Olden. Obviously the town knew about the attack for as soon as the lead waitress saw them enter she went into full momboat mode and ushered them to a table out of the way of staring onlookers and told them they could eat the entire stock of food if they wanted. The sailboats didn't need much but Big U did her best to comply with that order, stuffing herself on plate after plate of crab and lobster. Titanic still had mostly full bunkers and so didn't need as much. Olympia hardly touched any food despite Constitution's insistence that she eat.

With full stomach's the girls hit the Delaware and Rariton Canal, using it to break trail north to Carnegie Lake. The biggest challenge would be slipping through New Brunswick and across the Hudson River without being seen. They were still several miles from New York when they began to see evidence of Tosa's handiwork. Everything up to five miles inland was either blackened soot or in flames and on its way to being there. Bluenose offered to crest the top of the Palisades and scout the route ahead. An offer Constitution reluctantly agreed to with Titanic's vehement disapproval. Their only course option was to go inland, cross the Hudson at Newburgh and skirt around New York. But Constitution outranked her and she conceded.

The first thing Bluenose noticed was that the city was relatively untouched at least for the moment. There were a few fires burning but nothing major. But she felt she knew why that was. Tosa like other Abyssals took what they wanted from a place first before setting it ablaze to prevent reoccupation. Such would be New York's fate within a few days at most. She scanned the shoreline looking for the Abyssals even though she could feel their chill down her keel. A few mingled in the harbor while barges were hastily corrupted and pressed into service for the task of transferring stores to them. She even saw what appeared to be makeshift prison ships, holding thousands of the city's citizens in what was no doubt preparation for Tosa's next meal. The evilness and cruelty of the Abyssals made Bluenose sick.

Then the schooner saw something that would change her fleet's plans entirely. Trapped at the docks with a destroyer guard was Liberte. The kanmusu was tied up but otherwise she looked relatively unharmed. The fact she was technically a civilian ship and Tosa might not see her as a threat could be the reason she was spared.

Bluenose had seen what she needed to and slipped back to the others, telling Constitution what she had seen. "We're not equipped for a rescue mission." Titanic began.

"I don't see how we have much of a choice." Constitution growled, her tone low.

"You didn't let me finish." Titanic hissed. "I was going to say that we're going to need to be clever about this. We can't just walk through the streets of New York and expect to get away with snatching a prisoner."

"Maybe we can." Constitution put a hand beneath her chin as she thought, her blue eyes shining as she looked right at her British counterpart. "Just how long did you spend as a human before people realized you were a kanmusu?" She asked.

"A while." Titanic replied. "Even fellow kanmusu didn't know at first but I don't see how- oh. Oh! Hmm, yes that just might work."

"What will work?" United States was confused.

"Blockers." Olympia spoke up for the first time, her voice quiet. "That is what you were thinking, yes?" She asked.

Titanic nodded. She'd created a set of blockers that hid a kanmusu's ship side from those capable of detecting it. That was how she hid for so long. Naturalborns like Langley and Richardson's daughter did it instinctively at least until their ship side became too dominant. "I only have enough to split as two doses for each of us." She said.

"And each dose lasts a day correct?" Constitution asked as she accepted one. Over the years Titanic had refined her manufacturing technique and the blockers looked no more significant than an aspirin pill.

"Yes. So we'll need to be quick about this." Titanic replied as she passed them around. "A fair note of warning. These blockers will also limit your ability to summon your rigging. In fact it will be nearly impossible to do so before these wear off." Olympia accepted hers with resigned acceptance.

"Where is Liberte being held, Bluenose?" Constitution asked.

"West Harlem." The schooner replied.

"Our best bet is the Washington Bridge." United States, who had more experience than any of them with the Big Apple, said.

"The odds of being seen is extremely high though." Titanic frowned. "What about Lincoln Tunnel?"

"If it's open we could use it." Constitution nodded. "But the concern is that Tosa likely knows that avenue of attack and would have collapsed the entrance on the New York side."

"I could scout again." Bluenose offered but Constitution shook her head.

"We'll have to risk the bridge." She replied. "It's more direct and closer than the Tunnel and we can't afford to waste time. How long after consumption do the blockers take affect?" She asked.

"Five minutes." Titanic replied.

"Okay, Bluenose. In your scouting did you see a path for us to walk along the cliffs without being seen?" Theabuad asked.

"Why are you asking me? This is your city." Bluenose snorted.

"For the last time, I'm from Gloucester!" Theabuad snapped.

"Okay, quiet down now. What did Henry Hudson Dr. look like?" United States asked.

"It's clear. Just human motorists. Looks like Tosa is leaving the Jersey side alone. At least for now." Bluenose replied.

"Hmph, at least someone has the sense not to f*ck with those bums." United States muttered. On a plane over the American midwest on its way to Virginia, battleship New Jersey sneezed.