"They've not given up yet! Our only consolation is that we can't be sure if she knows we're aware of her."
The captain of the repurposed navy tender stared at the radar with a furrowed brow, muttering to himself. A chipper, female voice, that of the ship's escort, responded to him. "She doesn't know! But I can tell it's another Kansen. As to why they're following us, I don't have a clue."
The captain looked back at the radar readout. "Her heading's changed! She must have heard us."
The Light Cruiser, on her own bridge, looking at her own radar, furrowed her brow. This hadn't been accounted for. As she mulled it over, a transmission came in over the radio.
V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V
Midway finished transmitting the code phrase and waited, eyeing the radar while she did so.
The radio picked up the transmission back, pausing as it decrypted the message.
"Worcester here. I'm sorry we couldn't-" Midway tuned her out as a second radar contact appeared.
"Transport and Escort, you're being followed." she said. "Are you aware of this?"
"Yes, we were getting to that… they're running completely dark. Can you get some planes in the air to verify who it is before we rendezvous?"
"Will do, though I doubt any of the other factions would have a reason to spy on us."
"We want it to stay that way. This what we're preparing to give you is a game-changer."
"The secrecy implied as such. A flight is in the air. Time to see who the third party is."
V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V
Kronshtadt began to panic as she began to pick up more contacts on her long range radar. They were barely visible on the broad detection range, denoting them as aircraft.
A carrier was in the area, one of the Union's, most likely. She checked every last instrument she had, confused, as the flight of planes drew closer. She tried to keep her head cool, banishing images of her falling to the Union's withering airpower from her mind. She, a single ship, wasn't worth the specific attention of a fleet carrier, she reminded herself.
Her mind raced. She could attempt to evade, and risk looking even more suspicious, which risked causing a further crisis.
Or she could reveal herself then, after being spotted, and open radio contact with whoever she was following, and whoever had joined them.
As she mused, the aircraft came close enough for her to hear them, as she spotted them circling her ship. She grabbed a scope and tried to discern any markings on them.
The planes she didn't recognize, with their bubble canopies and larger size. They were solid navy blue with gold tail and wing tips. Everyone knew those markings, even the isolated ships of the Northern Parliament.
The livery of the Union Flagship herself.
V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V
"I think I have a visual." Midway began to circle the strange ship
"Is there anyone on deck?" The escort asked.
"Let me identify the hull code first." The large guns and size were too big for a cruiser but too small for a battleship."
"Large cruiser. That narrows things down. I don't recognize these cannons, though."
She completed her first pass and spotted a figure, just barely visible from the balcony of the ship's bridge.
"Eyes on the unknown element. I think we have a Kansen."
"Can you tell anything from there?" Worcester chimed in.
"Enough to see that they're… not someone we've seen before."
"Identifying features?" she asked.
"None fully discernable. I'm going to open a radio contact."
V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V
Suddenly, a transmission came over Kronshtadt's radio. She tentatively tuned into it.
"Unknown Kansen, this is the USS Midway. Identify yourself." So it was their flagship. Not wishing to draw her ire further, the russian responded.
"SN Kronshtadt, Northern Parliament."
There was a pause.
"What are you doing this far south?"
"Attempting to establish contact with Union Command for a diplomatic matter."
The lie was thin and brittle, like a sheet of newly formed ice on a lake.
"What are you actually here for?" Midway's tone grew impatient.
"I… was tailing the transport you are escorting in order to reach the 's something your commander must know that may be crucial to the war effort." There was no hope in lying to the Union's flagship, and for all she knew, she was already speaking with who she needed to see.
There was another, longer, pause.
"Rendezvous with us, Miss Kronshtadt. I'd like to hear what you have to say."
