─•~:~•─

Five days in Vancouver was like a dream come true for Repulse. The mountain air was clean and cool, and she'd never seen as many animals in her life, including the famous and mysterious Maple Monarchy Moose, a creature of legend and folklore in the Royal Islands.

'What a fantastic creature,' Repulse said as she led the Squadron out of the harbour, 'I bet those horns would make a wonderful addition to my cabin…'

While the Battlecruiser continued to daydream, Dauntless suddenly pulled her from the shoreline, 'Lady Repulse! Be careful! You've lost one anchor already. Her Majesty will be furious if you lose another.'

Repulse grumbled and pouted all along the West Coast of the Eagle Union. Zippy fishing boats and trawlers raced between the Squadron, with the Manjuu crews taking pictures and waving all the way.

The Squadron pulled west towards Alameda and found themselves approaching the now famous Golden Gate Bridge.

'Now that's proper craftsmanship that is! Just look at that old beaut' Adeliade said, admiring the bridge.

Repulse scoffed, 'Oh that's not very impressive. The London Bridge has much nicer brick.'

Hood turned and scolded her cousin, 'Now Repulse. That's no way for a lady to behave. Have some niceness for our friends. They do the best they can with what they have.'

Repulse sighed, 'Sorry, cousin. I'll be nicer.'

As the Squadron continued into the bay past Kirby Cove, a loud, shrill noise filled their ears.

Watashi wa numba wan!

'What the devil is that?!' Repulse shouted as she covered her ears. The entire Squadron was reeling in pain.

Even Hood, despite her attempts at keeping grace, winced in being uncomfortable, 'That truly is a racket. Where is that coming from?'

Can awards you happy lucky! Ie iei! Wara atte sumo! Its demo numba wan!

'Look up there!' Adelaide shouted, pointing to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Though each of the Battlecruisers had to use their HACS to fully make out the shape, the girl at the top of the bridge came into view. A little smaller than the maids, a light cruiser loaded with AA weaponry, red hair, and a blue skirt.

She jumped from the top of the bridge and executed a swan dive, but she misjudged the turn and landed flat on her face in the bay instead.

Repulse surged forward in concern, 'Are you all right?!'

She slowly raised herself out of the water and replied, 'Oww. I didn't want to land on my face…'

Repulse helped the girl out of the water and sighed, 'Now why would you do such a silly thing like that? You could have died jumping from that!'

'Well, you guys came to my city. I wanted to impress you! I'm San Diego, and welcome to my town!' she shouted.

Repulse shook her head, 'But we're not in San Diego, we're in San Francisco, about two hundred miles down the shore.'

Sandy was dumbstruck, 'Uh, are you sure?'

'Is that not the Golden Gate Bridge?' Repulse asked, pointing at the bridge.

Sandy looked up, 'Uh, maybe? I'm not too sure.'

'Good lord, are you sure you're not seeing stars?' Repulse asked.

'What are stars?' Sandy asked, looking utterly confused.

Repulse continued to sigh as Hood sailed forth and bowed again in perfect elegance, 'Greetings to you, Lady Sandy. We are most honoured to be invited to the city by the bay.'

'Hiiii!' Sandy shouted, forgetting what she forgot, 'I'm supposed to give you this thing, but you have to do something first!'

Sandy reached into her bag and produced a large key, holding it up high with both hands.

She then looked at Hood and said, 'You have to give us a firing salute, whatever that is.'

'I'll do it!' Repulse shouted, loading her secondary armaments.

Hood however shook her head, 'Now, now cousin. The offer was made to me. I shall be pleased to do the honours.'

Hood loaded her aft magazines with dummy rounds and aimed at a position just past the jail island of Alcatraz. She fired quickly, and the shells went out with a thunderous roar across the entire bay.

Sandy suddenly curled up in fear, 'Oh my god! OH MY GOD!'

She threw her hands in the air and cried, 'We surrender! We belong to the Royal Navy now! Please don't hurt us!'

It was now Hood's turn to sigh, 'Oh dear. Her Majesty will not like this…'

─•~:~•─