Chapter 25-Soiux Falls and Hamilton
In her dress USN Naval Whites, Bethany started awake in the predawn light shining through the round windows of the chartered Gulfstream G650 luxury jet over the plains of South Dakota. She yawned as severe jet lag from her trans-Pacific flight had completely screwed with her sleep schedule, and the leather seats on this plush corporate jet were too damn comfortable! She smiled as she saw her loyal shipgirl Delphy nestled into her shoulder. She patted the adolescent brunette on the head affectionately, stood up and stretched. Scattered in the other seats were her Clemson-class sisters Lee, Woodbury, and the pale skinned, flaxen-haired Young. She had only taken 4 destroyers on her recruitment trip to the Midwest as she needed her big guns to secure the seas around the Pacific Anti-Abyssal Seabase occupying the former Ford Island in the center of Pearl Harbor; this was especially important as Ari was in the drydocks.
A friendly voice with a distinct Eastern Midlands British accent inquired, "Coffee or tea, Admiral Ramirez?" A tall, distinguished gentleman in his late 60s with silver hair and a dark grey Brooks Brothers suit precisely tailored to his wiry frame offered two steaming cups to his guest.
"Oh, coffee! Si! Thanks, Mr. Lewis."
The bank Public Affairs officer chuckled softly as he handed over the coffee to Bethany, "A hero like you can call me Nigel."
She pulled a slight face, "Sure thing Nigel." She took a sip of the expertly brewed java and relished its reviving properties. "Thanks again for organizing the delivery of all those tons of steel I-beams, wiring, and glass to the battleship memorial. There's so little left of Sodak that I couldn't have done a proper summons without your company's help. The United States Navy is in your debt."
Nigel sipped at his teacup and gently shook his head, as he made a motion for them to belt in for the landing. "That material was earmarked to our new Citibank HQ annex skyscraper in downtown Sioux Falls; however considering the fact that our country is under a grave threat from aquatic Abyssals that threaten to destroy our commerce on the seas, I think a small sacrifice on our part is merited." He looked out the window as the jet aligned to the Southeast on the newly plowed runway 21 of Sioux Falls Regional Airport surrounded by a neat gridiron of streets, low-slung buildings, and nearly flat land covered by a thick accumulation of snow from the day before. "That memorial is the pride and joy of Sioux Falls, but I know everyone will be ecstatic to see Battleship X in action again."
The plane made a flawless touchdown in the bright morning, and once again Bethany found herself in yet another unfamiliar town on her cross country 'museum tour'. She mused to herself half jokingly that she should find out which of her fleet ladies had musical talents and form a band!
…
A police escort dropped the group on a cordoned off stretch of State Route 21. The surprisingly small memorial park against the highway had more space devoted to immaculately manicured softball fields than the bizarre light grey concrete wall tracing the outline of the hull of the name ship of the South Dakota class . The 'deck' was nothing but a snowy grass field interspersed with concrete turret mockups, and a central cylindrical grey-green brick building flanked 'fore' and 'aft' with boxy tan concrete additions. Bits and pieces of the proud WWII veteran were scattered on the snow-covered lawn. Towards the 'bow' facing a drugstore was one of her anchors, a Mark 37 secondary director, and her jackstaff at the very prow. Facing 'Aft' was her pole mast carrying her surface search radar dishes, a full length 16"/50 cannon with two dummy shells, and the disembodied hatch to her armored conning tower. The parking lot behind the memorial was loaded to capacity with building materials that looked more than sufficient to construct a battleship with plenty left over.
With calm sky blue eyes, the USS Young looked impassively over the sight, and turned to her commander, "Admiral, is this really it?"
Bethany tried hard to contain her amusement as she regarded the concrete battleship as looking bizarrely funny, "Si, ninita."
Delphy saw that the police had set up a security cordon around the park with the news trucks a block away and mused, "They're taking this seriously, Admiral."
The black-haired Lee added emphatically, "We'll keep yah safe, sir."
The bank executive beamed at the adorable four destroyer girls keeping a watchful eye for trouble, "Ladies, the security is only a precaution. There is no need to worry about the Abyssals here. Sioux Falls is decidedly landlocked."
Woodbury's green eyes widened she approached a freestanding white mast component sitting on the sidewalk with an empty surface radar bracket on top, a cylindrical crow's nest and an angular brace below. "Admiral! Come over here. This mast isn't from the South Dakota!"
Bethany's eyes lit up luminescent blue, as she synced with the mast, and a completely different fleet maiden materialized under it than she expected. Like her other USN battleship maidens, she expected a mature woman to materialize; not a tiny teenage girl in a white frilly dress looking barely older than her Clemson girls with waist-length lilac hair and beautiful blue eyes, clutching a white horse plush! The Admiral blinked a few times in shock, before she regained her voice, "Dios! Umm….Miss Sodak?" Even as she said it she knew instantly that this girl wasn't a battleship.
The adorable girl stammered as she covered the lower half of her face with her stuffed toy, "I-I…I'm pleased to meet you big sist-I mean Admiral! Registry I72, support carrier HMS Unicorn at your command. I am overjoyed to see family of my former crew present" She fidgeted bashfully, "T-tell Mr. Lewis that it was a true honor to serve with his uncle during the Pacific war."
Bethany hated deception, so she testily turned around to giver her host an annoyed glare, "Miss Unicorn says hello, Nigel."
His smile faltered, "Ah. Guilty as charged." He sighed, "Yes, well pardon my omission, Admiral. I figured you could use a support carrier alongside the Saratoga and Gambier Bay. My uncle Nicholas served during World War II as a trainer in one of the Unicorn's QF 4 inch twin defensive mounts when she was assigned to the British Pacific Fleet."
She crossed her arms, "Next time warn me in advance."
"Of course. You have my profuse apologies." He reached out and affectionately touched the flaking paint on the mast, "When I caught wind of your upcoming visit, I took it upon myself to have this mast removed from its home in Troon, Scotland and shipped here at my expense."
"I assume there is enough raw materials for both warships?"
"Of course."
Bethany shook her head in mild exasperation, "Fine. Thanks for your company's contribution to the war effort."
Nigel regained his cheerful attitude, "It's the least we can do, Admiral Ramirez."
She channeled her unholy power through her cursed eyes and the mast levitated as the construction components neatly assembled into the form of a diminutive aircraft carrier a mere 195 meters long. Its hull sank into the softball diamonds as the long and narrow island superstructure assembled on the starboard side along with its four QF Mk XVI 4" guns, four quadruple 2-pounder and ten twin and single mount 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns housed in starboard and port sponsons situated just below the straight flight deck. Like a decorative horn, the mast assumed its former position of pride atop the forward part of the island.
The ship quickly phased into mist as the new flesh and blood fleet maiden sailed through the air into the snowbank. She raced over and gave Nigel a crushing hug and sobbed, "Thank you Mr. Lewis! I am so happy to serve again!"
Nigel looked genuinely surprised at how overwhelmingly adorable the avatar of his family's ship truly was. "Of course Miss Unicorn. Admiral Ramirez will see that you will help protect us all."
"I-I will do my best!"
Delphy silently fumed as she felt a pricking in her chest as she saw a fellow fleet girl that was cuter than she was!
The group entered the cylindrical memorial proper appreciating the transition from icy cold to warm and found a plump middle-aged lady with curly black hair wearing a t-shirt that featured a picture of the South Dakota. The interior was filled with WWII memorabilia, although all the artifacts from the USS South Dakota had been removed to the back sidewalk. She looked at her guests with a conflicted expression. "Good morning Admiral, and friends! I'm Cindy Delcarlo, and I've been working at the memorial for twenty years. Thank you so much for giving Miss Sodak another shot at service!"
Nigel shook her hand followed by Bethany, "We appreciate your committee opting to close the memorial to make this happen."
She smiled sadly, "Yeah. I'll miss her terribly, but Battleship X is needed by her country much more than we need her. Sioux Falls humbly sends their prayers and hopes with her." She looked at Admiral Ramirez and wiped away a tear, "Take good care of her, ma'am."
"We will Cindy."
The memorial official watched with astonishment for second time in a 10 minute span as the USN Admiral extended her arms and summoned a new shipgirl. Bethany's unholy power levitated over 30,000 metric tons of steel plating to form the outline of a mighty battleship. The haze grey ship with the countershaded numeral '57' was so massive it flattened the pavilions to two of the softball fields as the keel formed, followed by the 210 meter hull, main deck, turrets, citadel-style superstructure that narrowed in size from the bottom to the top of the main battery director 10 stories above the teak planks on the main deck. Three triple-sleeved massive 16"/45 Mk 6 caliber turrets formed the main armament; two in a superfiring arrangement on the bow, and one aft of the massive superstructure. All of the artifacts left over from its scrapping flew neatly into their former positions. Its superstructure was cramped into a very short citadel to increase armor protection for its vitals. As a flagship, it had a unique extra level on its conning tower and only 8 of the 5"/38 caliber Mk 12 twin DP secondary turrets instead of the 10 on its 3 sisters. Scattered all over the deck and were Bofors 40 mm quad AA mounts and 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns.
Cindy did her level best not to topple over as she stared at Sodak's gloriously reconstructed hull that she had only ever visualized in photographs, newsreels, visits to her intact sisters in Massachusetts and Alabama, and vivid descriptions by the veterans who had proudly sailed on her. "My…God. She's magnificent!"
Bethany slumped against Delphy and Lee, her power now completely spent. All of her Clemson-class escorts and Unicorn gave her affectionate hugs and kisses on the cheeks to counteract her Abyssal taint from spreading out of control. She griped softly, "Uf! No quiero hacer eso otra vez."
The ship immediately dissolved into the frosty air revealing a tall, curvy, brown-skinned woman with penatrating amber eyes, and jet black hair tied into a thick braid. Her figure was covered by a brown leather top that left her midriff exposed, brown shorts, tall black boots and dark brown cape billowing in the slight breeze. She also wore a silver wire necklace around her neck, and a small golden woven ornament with two dyed feathers jutting backwards in her hair on the left side of her head.
Nigel blinked in surprise, "Bloody hell! That was amazing, Admiral!"
Bethany sighed and stood upright again giving the newly rebuilt battleship a snappy salute, which South Dakota recipricated. "At ease sailor!"
"Admiral! USS South Dakota reporting for duty! It is a honor to be your shield in battle!"
Cindy approached the statuesque warrior and nervously shook her hand, "Miss Sodak! It's truly an honor to meet you like this! Your avatar looks like it hails from the Rosebud Lakota tribe."
"Indeed Miss Delcarlo." She gave a respectful nod, "I appreciate the memorial staff and veterans who looked after my scrapped remnants. I will never forget your kindness." Her face turned sorrowful, "I'm deeply sorry that I stripped your memorial bare. I couldn't protect you from losing your job."
Nigel shook her hand as well, "No need to be pessimistic, Miss Dakota. The memorial will stay open in honor of the service of South Dakotan veterans. Americans can't get enough of their revived naval armada. I'm sure if the USN can provide filmed interviews and photographs to display then we will still have visitors to this site."
"Oh. That is a relief then." She turned to her CO, "I am ready to depart anytime, Admiral."
Cindy hugged the stuffing out of the surprised battleship, "You're our hero, Miss Sodak!"
"Er...of course." She gave an awkward hug in return as Bethany chuckled.
…
In the late afternoon, Ramirez sighed wearily as her military flight out of Soiux Falls to New York City to recruit the USS Intrepid had been diverted at the last minute to a midsized Canadian city named Hamilton on the far West border of Lake Ontario. She had frankly never heard of the place; all she knew was that as she was standing in the shadow of a grey metal building that she was about a half hour drive from Niagara Falls. She and her shipgirls stood in their dress whites at the insistence of the USN brass; although Sodak looked unconforatable at wearing a restrictive uniform that covered her from head to toe.
Docked directly in front her in the chilly spring morning was a 115 meter long Tribal-class destroyer apparently famous all across Canada although she had never heard of the HMCS Haida either. It was grey with a slight bluish tint with a raised bow, and cut down a deck just aft of the bridge. She had a substantial squared off superstructure for her size with a slender tripod foremast supporting her radar between her bridge and forwards funnel. Superfiring twin 119 mm/45 guns dominated the bow, and a lone mount adorned the stern. A low-slung aft superstructure left only enough room for an amidships Mk IX quad torpedo launcher just aft of her rear funnel. Antiaircraft cannons included a quad 40 mm QF 2-pounder, and six 20 mm Oerlikon single mounts. Two single projectors amidships an a stern mounted rail were designed to deploy Mk IV depth charges.
A pleasant voice interrupted her stewing, "Ah, Admiral Ramirez, welcome to Hamilton on behalf of the Royal Canadian Navy. We promise to give you a better reception to you Americans than we did in 1812."
She smirked at the joke and turned around to see a cheerful well-built man about her age with dark hair and brown eyes approach the assembly past the HMCS Star concrete sign and present a crisp salute. She returned the salute along with her fleet maidens and snarked, "Hey, we kicked your butts on the high seas even as we lost the land engagements. It was a draw." Her contact was dressed in a classic white and black RCN Navy officer's cap with an anchor insignia topped with a gold crown. He was attired in a very smart black uniform jacket, trousers, glossy dress shoes, and tie matched with a white shirt. The uniform had gold cuffs with four gold bands around the cuffs indicating his senior rank as a Captain.
"Captain John Pullman, commander of the HMCS Star at your service Admiral Ramirez. We may have a well deserved reputation for niceness in this Country, but we still have a long memory."
Bethany chuckled as she liked this officer already, "You're the Captain of an office building?"
"It's our Royal Canadian Navy Reserve Division in Ontario. It's complicated." He smiled at her subordinates, "Lieutenant South Dakota, Ensign Unicorn, Seaman Delphy, Seaman Woodbury, Seaman Lee, and Seaman Young, it is a pleasure to meet you all. This way please. The HMCS Haida is the pride of the RCN even after it was mothballed in 1963."
As they boarded the ship, Unicorn tugged at Bethany's sleeve bashfully.
Bethany beamed, "Si, ninita Unicorn?"
The violet-haired girl looked troubled, "Admiral, this ship still has WW II fittings. It should have been refitted several times already."
It hit Bethany like a thunderbolt. She spoke in a tense voice, "Captain, do you mind?"
John gave her a sly wink, "Ah, so you figured us out. Miss Haida?"
A young tween girl wearing glasses came out of a hatch leading up to the bridge with a knowing smirk. Her snow white hair reached her shoulderblades and covered up her left eye. Her one piece navy blue dress featured dark buttons in 2 rows, and triple pinstripes at the hem, cuffs and collar. A shawl-like matching cape insulated her shoulders from the nippy air, and knee high white socks and black loafers covered her feet. Proudly atop her head was a white cap on, with a black band around the base reading 'HMCS Haida' in striking gold lettering. She put her hands on her hips, "Admiral Ramirez, we've been eagerly expecting you! HMCS Haida at your service!"
Everyone except Pullman and Haida gawked for a long second before Ramirez exclaimed in frustration at the absurd sight of a shipgirl that somehow summoned herself, "Que esta pasando aqui? Quién te llamó, Senorita Haida?"
A pleasant man's voice came from the dark hatch firmly indicated his responsibility for the apparent paradox, "Llamé a Haida, Almirante Ramirez." The RCN officer emerged in an nearly identical outfit to Pullman with Rear Admiral insignia on his sleeves and gave a respectful bow as he playfully tousled up Haida's hair, "Buenas tardes. Me llamo Almirante Andrew P. Dixon."
Bethany stopped mid-gripe as she took stock of her fellow Fleet Admiral's baby blue eyes and completely lost her train of thought. She blinked in shock that the third Fleetgirl Admiral was quite the hunk, despite his half-Abyssal aura. He was a shade over six feet tall with a neatly cropped dark blond Navy crewcut, and a well toned physique. She flushed in embarrassment as she saluted, "Admiral Bethany Marie-Nieve Ramirez, at your service, Admiral Dixon."
John gave a good natured sigh as his handsome friend once again caught the ladies' attention without even trying. He suppressed a chuckle as he could only imagine what life would be like for his pal once he had a hundred shipgirls under his command instead of just one!
Dixon pointedly ignored his friend's antics as he gave a genuine smile as he saluted back, "And now there are three of us versus the Abyssals! Come inside everyone. There is a lot to cover."
Bethany mutely nodded and complied without a word.
*A/N: Many thanks from A.D. Fields for letting me transplant his Admiral and his beloved HMCS Haida into my story! Thanks a lot AD!*