Norfolk, Virginia January 1920
USS South Carolina smiled as she saw the dots and dashes of New York's rather excited greeting. The Super Dreadnought's signal lamps flashing at a speed most would find unreadable.
"For god's sake York." Another set of signal lamps cut in. "Not every battleship that docked in Norfolk is mom." It belonged to Delaware, the oldest of her daughters sent to fight in the war in Europe. "I'm sorry about that. Our mothers supposed to be here somewhere and my cousin's a little excited to see her."
"I would certainly hope so after not hearing a single peep out of any of you in almost two years." South Carolina smiled as her own lamps sent out her message. She could practically hear the squeal that was no doubt coming from New York's mouth and she could see other signal lamps lighting up as the battleships of Battle Division 9 and their escorts returned after two years in Europe.
This had been a reunion she had waited months for. Because of her age, South Carolina had been relegated to stateside duty while Delaware, Wyoming, Florida, and New York had made their way to Europe to join the British Home Fleet as they blockaded Germany.
As it turned out the worry about her age had been more than justified when she had first lost her starboard propeller shaft, followed soon after by the throttle on her port side shaft, while escorting a convoy back in April of 1918.
South still worried about her daughter's safety as they stared down the German High Seas Fleet. She had heard about the losses the much better trained and better equipped British had taken against them at places like Dogger's bank and Jutland, their armor seemingly useless to the long range fire the Germans dropped on them.
It was a worry magnified when her youngest daughters, Nevada and Oklahoma, sailed with Utah to join their older cousins in Britain. Nevada in particular was excited at the prospect of seeing action after being relegated due to a lack of fuel oil in Britain, or "Bullshit supply excuses" as the first of the Nevada called it. While the first two ships of what was already being called the "standard" class were supposed to be two of the most advanced ships afloat, South still worried that their inexperience would be their undoing.
Fortunately, the expected battle had never occurred. Instead the Americans would meet the enemy not as combatant but as victors, helping their British allies escort the High Seas Fleet to its postwar internment at Scapa Flow.
Now South Carolina sat in dry-dock for a refit after sailing to Europe as an improvised transport, tasked with helping move the army of men sent to end the Great War back home. She was surprised to see New York and the others sailing into port, having expected them to still be in Europe after escorting President Wilson to France.
"I trust you ladies behaved yourself while you were guests of our esteemed allies?" South Carolina signaled after the lightshow of hellos had subsided.
"For the most part." Delaware replied. "Had a couple of issues with U-boats. York had a nasty run-in with one off northern Scotland."
South gasped, thinking that her daughter had been the victim of a German torpedo. "How… how bad was it?"
"Delaware's exaggerating mom, as usual." York cut in as if reading her mom's thoughts. "One tried to occupy the same space as me over in Pentland Firth. It kind of ran into me and then ended up getting chewed up by my propeller." South felt a wave of relief wash over her as she heard her daughter explain what happened to her during the war. "… At least we think it was a U-boat."
"What do you mean?" a rather confused South Carolina asked.
"Well…" USS Florida chimed in. "We never found any wreckage, but if it wasn't a submarine, then York managed to find to find a shipwreck everyone else missed."
"As long as you're alright." South said.
"For the most part. The submarine took my starboard propeller with it when I ran it over. Plus, I had this cool dent in me that they found in dry-dock. It looks just like the bow of a U-boat. You should have seen it."
South could practically hear the groan that precluded Delaware's reply. "For god's sake York. I don't think mom needs to hear about your hull damage, even if it was the most interesting thing that happened in Europe."
"What about that deal just before the armistice where you all-" Florida began before Delaware cut her off.
"We are not going to talk about November 1918. Especially you, miss clean-bill-of-health."
"But..."
"No!" New York, Wyoming, and Delaware all shouted.
South Carolina couldn't help but giggle as her daughters continued to banter back and forth over their exploits during the Great War, glad that they had come home safe and sound.
South Carolina's eyes shot open as she felt something touch her shoulder, her body almost catapulting itself of the couch she had been using as a makeshift bed. After rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes she looked around the break room before spotting the girl who had awakened her.
She knew that the girl was a V-boat, if only because they were the only Fleet Girls left on the base besides her. The girl was roughly the same size as the destroyers with hazel eyes. Her hair, dyed navy blue like most other subs as a supposed form of camouflage, hung in a single braid over her right shoulder. She was clad in the black full-body wetsuit most submarines chose to wear in favor of the 40's era one piece swimsuits they had come back with. A .357 magnum hung from a shoulder holster, the reloads for it hanging on the webbing of her M-1928 combat pack along with a half dozen grenades.
"Is everything all right…Nautilus, is it?" South Carolina asked.
The girl shook her head before pointing to the patch on her right shoulder, a yellow rams-headed snake wrapped around a mine.
"Oh, sorry dear. What does Admiral Enfield need me for?"
"Medusa requested you…" The girl began, her voice barely even a whisper.
"You'll need to speak up Argonaut. These old ears aren't what they use to be. To many years sitting next to big guns will do that to you." South Carolina interrupted jokingly.
Argonaut took a deep breath before beginning again, her voice still barely above what humans would consider an indoor voice. South Carolina knew better to complain though. None of the subs particularly liked to talk all that much, preferring the pseudo sign language they used to talk to each other over audible communication. "Medusa said she needed you at the docks. She said something about needing an extra hand."
South Carolina sighed. "She probably didn't tell you when North and the others were coming back did she?" Argonaut simply shook her head no. "Very well then, shall we head over to the docks?"
Rather than the cold slabs of steel one would expect for a repair facility, the room in question was a series of bathtubs. While no one, not even the girls themselves, seemed to understand exactly how it worked, it was a well-known fact that the mineral water used in these facilities seemed to help heal their wounds.
As expected, the room was bustling with activity. Men moved around it, helping USS Medusa set up the equipment she had brought with her. A welder's mask now sat on top of her head in place of the bandanna, the faceplate raised at the moment. "Ah, South Carolina. It's good to see you," she said extending her hand. "It's nice to see they let you out of heaven from time to time."
"Medusa," South replied shaking her hand. "It is likewise good to see that the last few months haven't taken your sense of humor from you. I assume that the boats carrying North and the others are close if you sent Argo…" South's voice trailed off as she realized the submarine had disappeared on her. "I could have sworn she was right behind me."
"Argonaut never even entered the room." Medusa said after a quick laughing fit over the battleships confusion. "She poked her head in, took one look at all the people in here, and booked it like she had just realized she was in the destroyer barracks."
South just shook her head. "Poor dear, I don't think I've ever met someone that shy, even compared to her sisters and cousins."
"She's a good kid though, and she has a pretty good reason for avoiding attention after what happened in her last life."
South Carolina just shrugged at Medusa's words. Every girl in the fleet seemed to have some sort of issue from their last life, the only difference being how well they hid it. Some buried themselves in responsibility like Sully, while others acted like the purest embodiment of chaos. And lord knew she had more than a few issues herself. "So, what are we looking at for wounded? I got the initial damage reports before Chris sent me to get a few hours shut eye before they got back, but I want to hear what you think."
"Like I told admiral Enfield. Your daughter's the worst off out of any of them, as one would expect from someone who was in her spot. Nothing's truly life threatening, but the damage she has is both widespread and pretty severe."
"So how far out are they?"
"Less than five minutes." Medusa replies. "Now put this on. I'm going to need your help in hear with all the wounded coming in."
"You know I'm not a repair ship like you, right?" South asked. "North's systems are almost 40 years newer then mine."
"You're also the only other ship who has damage control crews familiar with battleships." Medusa replied, an uncharacteristic tension in her voice. "I'm going to need some extra hands on this one, and we both know that for all the good the human docs are with actual humans, they're about as useful in putting our bodies back together as I am in a gunfight. I already have the mechanics fixing their rigging, but it's up to the destroyers, you, and myself to fix the injured ourselves."
At that moment, Argonaut popped her head back into the room. "They're here ma'am." The navy blue haired girl said before disappearing back into the hall. The effect of the news was almost immediate. One by one the various personnel in the room began leaving it, partially to avoid being in the way as well out of respect for the girl's modesty.
Minutes later the parade of wounded Fleet Girls began. First in was Laffey, her wounded shoulder in a sling and swathe. Though she was showing signs of shock, her face still held the grin she was known for, the corners only slightly bending down as Johnston and Medusa lowered her into the bath.
Next came Kidd, who walked in unassisted, nursing her bandaged left hand. She made her way to a more secluded part of the bath to begin unwrapping the bandages surrounding her splinted fingers and let the water soak them.
Next came Sully, supported by both Hoel and Hermann. By this point the destroyer could barely keep herself upright due to her injuries, stumbling and bouncing between her helpers like a ping pong ball as they guided her to a bath. Looking at Sully, South wondered how bad her daughter's injuries were if she still rated priority treatment over the destroyer.
South soon got her answer as Augusta and Northampton crews carried North into the room on a backboard. North's NWU top had been removed at some point during the journey back, revealing the navy-blue tank top she was wearing underneath. The battleship's skin was little more than a mass of bruises, with bandages covering her head and abdomen. Medusa quickly directed them to an offshoot that served as an operating room of sorts for more damaged Fleet Girls.
South Carolina briefly hesitated as she followed them into the room, dreading every step as she neared the doorway. She forced herself forward though, for it was her responsibility to do so. She had helped take her daughter apart, so it was only fair that she help put her back together.